the goan I network
PANAJI
In what came as another blow to Goa’s interests in the River Mhadei issue, Union Minister for Environment Prakash Javadekar has referred Goa’s demand on the Kalsa-Bhandura drinking water project to a committee for further study.
An all-party delegation led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had requested Javadekar earlier this month to withdraw the letter giving a nod to the Kalsa-Bhandura project. However, Javadekar’s response to the memorandum submitted by the all-party delegation far from agreed to Goa’s demands.
Instead, referring to the memorandum submitted to him by the all-party delegation, Javadekar talks about setting up a committee to look into the “issues” raised by the Goa delegation.
“It is informed through your memorandum that the proposal submitted to the Ministry is more than a drinking water project and thus requires to be reviewed in detail by the Ministry. In this connection, a committee is being constituted to look into the issues raised in detail,” Javadekar stated in a letter sent to CM Sawant on Monday, which Sawant tweeted on Tuesday.
Javadekar’s response has been made public one day ahead of the inauguration of the 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) where he is set to be guest of honour in his capacity as the Minister for Information and Broadcasting.
While the Opposition parties expressed outrage at Javadekar’s less-than-satisfactory efforts to appease Goans ahead of IFFI, CM Sawant took the opposite stand and expressed happiness.
The Rs 841 crore worth Kalsa-Bhandura project, set to be built across the River Mhadei is set to divert 13.42 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) from the Mhadei river basin
