the goan I network
BELAGAVI
The sudden change in Centre’s stand over the controversial Mhadei water diversion issue has shocked many legal experts and leaders in Karnataka who have expressed anguish over the recent development in Parliament over the issue.
In response to a question raised by BK Hariprasad in Rajya Sabha on Monday, Union Jalashakti Minister Rattanlal Kataria had stated that until the petitions pending before the tribunal were cleared, it was not possible to publish gazette notification of the tribunal’s order. He also said that the gazette notification at this moment could amount to contempt of court.
The sudden change in Centre’s stand has shocked many legal experts and leaders in the state. This is because, in less than two months after writing to Karnataka government to launch work on Kalasa-Banduri project (part of Mhadei project) after the gazette notification of Mhadei Water Dispute Tribunal (MWDT) order, the Union government backed off on its stand and has now decided not to publish gazette notification until the review petitions filed by the three stakeholders of Mhadei project with the tribunal are cleared.
A noted legal expert and former member of the team of advocates who represented Karnataka in the case in Supreme Court, MB Zirli said, “Clarificatory applications have been filed by Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka (three stakeholders) in the MWDT to get clarifications on some paras in the final judgement of MWDT which may not be clear. However, there is no legal bar for the Centre to publish the gazette notification. But the Centre may have decided against publishing the notification due to certain technical problems.’’
It may be recalled that soon after Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar’s letter to Karnataka, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant led a delegation to the Centre to halt Karnataka from going ahead with Mhadei project. Goa Governor Satyapal Malik also exerted pressure on Javadekar to protect the interests of Goa and told a local news channel that Goa had been cheated and suffered injustice in the Mhdei issue. And under pressure from Goa, the Centre began changing its stand and finally clarified in the Rajya Sabha on Monday that it will not publish the gazette notification.
Karnataka has been involved in a long-stretched battle with Goa for its share of 36.55 tmc of water under Mhadei Water Diversion project including 7.56 tmc for drinking water purpose. According to sources, of the 5.5 tmc of water allotted for drinking to Karnataka by the MWDT, 3.80 tmc will be diverted to Malaprabha basin through Kalasa rivulet (1.18 tmc) and Bhandura nullah (2.72 tmc) while 1.50 tmc is allotted for in-basin consumption in Khanapur region. Pinning their hopes on Ramesh Jarkiholi, who has recently taken charge as Karnataka’s minister for water resources, several leaders from North Karnataka have questioned the stand of Union Ministers from Karnataka, Suresh Angadi and Pralhad Joshi on the fresh stance of the Centre on Mhadei.
