PRAWAH firm despite K’taka citing CWC approvals
PANAJI
The Goa government has sought an additional one month’s time to submit its inputs to the Mhadei–PRAWAH (Progressive River Authority for Welfare and Harmony) on the procedure to be adopted while granting final clearances to various minor irrigation and drinking water projects proposed within the Mhadei river basin.
The issue came up during the fifth meeting of PRAWAH held in New Delhi on Wednesday. Interestingly, there was no discussion during the meeting on Goa’s long-pending demand for a joint site inspection of Karnataka’s proposed Kalasa Nala project, which aims to divert water from the Mhadei river basin.
Sources confirmed that the issue of joint inspection did not figure on the agenda and was not taken up for deliberation.
Sources said the Authority noted that both Goa and Maharashtra had failed to submit their comments on the procedural framework for granting approvals to drinking water projects in the Mhadei basin, despite the matter being flagged during the previous meeting held in April this year.
During the meeting, Goa sought more time to furnish its inputs. Maharashtra, which is yet to submit details, was directed by PRAWAH to provide the required information at the earliest.
According to sources, Karnataka, while making its submissions on the procedural aspects, raised strong objections to PRAWAH’s intervention in granting permissions, arguing that statutory authorities such as the Central Water Commission (CWC) had already accorded consent to its projects.
However, PRAWAH reportedly took a firm stand, maintaining that all permissions must be obtained strictly in accordance with the rules and norms prescribed by the Central government, irrespective of clearances granted by other agencies.
“PRAWAH was very critical and reiterated that every project within the Mhadei basin must comply with the laid-down legal and procedural framework,” a source said.
Officials from Goa participated in the meeting through video conferencing. Meanwhile, Goa has submitted salient features of all completed and ongoing major, medium and minor irrigation as well as drinking water projects within the Mhadei river basin. Karnataka has also provided comprehensive details of its projects. Maharashtra, however, is yet to submit similar information.
The discussions at the meeting primarily focused on technical aspects related to river flow management, inter-state coordination, and compliance with the norms set by the Mhadei River Authority. PRAWAH is expected to take further decisions once the pending information and inputs are received from all the concerned states.
