House committee clears path for SC plea on Mhadei row

MAPUSA
Aldona MLA Carlos Ferreira has stated that House Committee on the Mhadei River water dispute has accepted his recommendation for the State government to file a petition in the Supreme Court.
He was speaking after the meeting of the House Committee on the Mhadei River water dispute, chaired by WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar on Friday.
He said the petition is expected to be filed in the first week of December.
Ferreira explained that the committee’s decision is rooted in frustration over what he described as inaction since the last meeting in January.
“We did an assessment of the last meeting held in January “ we thought that no constructive action has been taken till now,” he said.
He pointed out that while the government of Karnataka has raised most objections in the dispute, the Goa government and the oversight authority Prawah have repeatedly claimed the matter is sub-judice. So has the central government, which has referred the matter to the law department.
“Why is Prawah wasting time by saying sub-judice? Everyone is saying sub-judice and Karnataka is not allowing us even for inspection. It’s important to put an application before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court will give a direction. Ask for early hearing and at the same time ask for joint inspection,” Ferreira said.
He recalled that an earlier joint inspection had taken place, but later resulted in three separate reports by the governments of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra. He proposed that instead one unified report be submitted under the chairmanship of Prawah’s head, which “ even in case of differing views “ could offer a single conclusion.
“One report has to be submitted by the chairman of Prawah. That way there can be a unanimity. Even if there is a difference of opinion he can give a conclusion on this,” he said.
The committee accepted Ferreira’s recommendations and has provisioned a time-line.
The background to this move stems from the long-running inter-state water dispute over the Mhadei River basin, where Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra have contested rights and diversion plans “ notably the Kalasa‘Banduri Project.
The House Committee has now signalled that the government will move ahead with the legal process, shifting from earlier reliance on administrative and parliamentary action.