PANAJI
The Mhadei-PRAWAH (Progressive River Authority for Welfare and Harmony) will meet on March 4 in Mumbai to discuss the Goa government’s proposal for a joint site inspection of the Kalasa Nala project of Karnataka.
The third meeting of PRAWAH under Chairman Navin Kumar was held in Goa on October 25, last year, during which the authority had decided to approach the Central government seeking legal opinion with regards to the joint site inspection request.
According to the draft agenda of the fourth meeting, the PRAWAH will further discuss the joint inspection proposal, which is being strongly objected to by Karnataka.
The meeting will also discuss a detailed procedure for the final clearance of new minor irrigation projects and drinking water projects. The members will also deliberate on the DPR of the Virdi Large Minor Irrigation Project by Maharashtra - the project that has also received objection from Karnataka.
In July last year, following the request from the Goa government, the PRAWAH team had visited the Mhadei basin areas of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra. 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. This was strongly objected to by Goa, which through a fresh communication in August, requested the authority for another joint site inspection.
The Authority was constituted on May 22, 2023, to give effect to the Mhadei Water Dispute Tribunal (MWDT) Award passed in August 2018. PRAWAH had its first meeting in Goa in February while the second meeting took place in Bengaluru in July, 2024.
The Mumbai meeting will also discuss several administrative matters including directing three States to deploy officers in PRAWAH on a deputation basis.
