THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
The former Public Works minister Sudin Dhavlikar on Monday made a serious claim that the Karnataka Government has illegally diverted nearly 50 per cent of Mhadei River water.
Dhavlikar raised the Mhadei water diversion issue in the assembly on the first day of session during zero hour. He appealed to the ruling party MLAs to visit the Kalasa-Bhandura site to have a real feel of the situation.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant while replying said that the government is serious on the issue and continuously monitoring the situation. He assured that the government will appeal in the appropriate forums.
Meanwhile Dhavlikar also raised an issue of no compensation being given to the farmers whose land had been acquired by the government for the Cricket Stadium at Thivim for the last five years.
He also pointed out that proposal of building a cricket stadium has been dropped by the government and land is lying idle. CM Sawant accepted that there is delay in compensation to the farmers.
However he turned down the demand of giving high rate of compensation to farmers based on the present land acquisition law.
“Farmers will be given compensation as per the rate that was decided at the time of acquisition of land,” CM said.
He also said that though the land was acquired for a sports stadium the government can use the land for any other work.
Cable problem
Ponda MLA Ravi Naik raised an issue related to problems caused after widening of roads to underground power cables.
He pointed out a case in Ponda where the power cables have come out in the middle of the road causing danger to the travellers and demanded urgent repairs.
Power Minister Nilesh Cabral informed that the power department is working on a policy to shift the underground cables which have come in the middle of the road in coordination with the Public Works Department.
