PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Water Resources Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to urge withdrawal of the order approving DPR for Kalasa-Bhandura project in Karnataka.
“I, along with Goa WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar, will shortly meet PM Modi and Union WRD Minister requesting to withdraw the approval given to DPR submitted by Karnataka. We will press for the establishment of Mahadayi Water Management Authority as per Mahadayi Tribunal Award,” the CM said on Friday amid growing demands from the Opposition to ensure Goa’s lifeline is protected for the sake of its future generation.
He reiterated that the DPR approval is subject to three conditions and it was not a complete green signal for Karnataka to start work. On Thursday, Sawant claimed that under the WildLife Protection Act 1972, Karnataka cannot divert water from Mhadei River despite DPR approval. “No water from Kalasa Rivulet can be diverted in any manner,” he stated.
The government, he added, also plans to petition the Mahadayi Water Management Authority “ once constituted -- to reverse the illegal water diversion by the neighbouring State from Mhadei basin. “If need be, we will file more intervention petitions against Karnataka in the Supreme Court to protect the interest of Goa,” he added.
In a development later during the day, CM Sawant called for an urgent cabinet meeting on the first working day of the New Year, on January 2, 2023 to exclusively discuss the Mhadei issue.
“All the legal framework and future course of action will be discussed. The CM and WRD minister are nevertheless contemplating meeting the PM and Union WRD Minister in Delhi, but before that they need to discuss and study the matter thoroughly to put up a strong case before the Centre,” sources revealed.
