PANAJI
The third meeting of the Mhadei PRAWAH (Progressive River Authority for Welfare and Harmony), is scheduled in Goa on October 25.
The meeting, which was supposed to be held in New Delhi on September 5, was postponed in view of Ganesh Chaturthi festival. The PRAWAH held its first meeting in Goa in February, while the second took place in Bengaluru in July.
The incumbent in-charge of Central Water Commission (CWC) Navin Kumar will chair the meeting, following superannuation of PM Scott.
According to sources, Goa government’s request for yet another joint site inspection of the Kalsa Diversion Project site at Kankumbi, Karnataka -- the one that was missed out during the first visit in July --will be taken up for discussion during the meeting.
The State, via two communications, had requested PRAWAH to issue necessary directions to Karnataka, during its upcoming meeting to restore the reverse slope of the Mhadei river water -- which is currently being diverted to Malaprabha basin.
Following the request from the Goa government, PRAWAH team visited the Mhadei basin areas in Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra, in July. However, the team failed to inspect the actual diversion site and accordingly, the outgoing chairman PM Scott in its report gave a complete skip to Karnataka’s violation.
The Authority was constituted on May 22, 2023 to give effect to the Mhadei Water Dispute Tribunal (MWDT) Award passed in August 2018.
Following its first meeting, the Authority was of the view that the river diversion issue could be resolved “amicably” by the three riparian States- Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra through PRAWAH.
The PRAWAH had decided to deliberate and settle all issues pertaining sustainable and equitable utilization of waters of Mhadei river basin between the three States.
