PANAJI
The Mhadei PRAWAH (Progressive River Authority for Welfare and Harmony) will meet on Tuesday in Bengaluru to discuss the Goa government’s proposal for joint site inspection of the Kalasa Nala project of Karnataka.
This is the fourth meeting of PRAWAH. The committee was initially scheduled to meet on March 4 in Mumbai but the same was postponed to April 22 at 11 am.
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 joint site inspection request.
Speaking to The Goan, WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar said that the State will press for its demand of fresh joint site inspection. “We will see that our demand is met. A joint site inspection of the Kalasa project is must to understand the kind of violation that Karnataka has undertaken,” the Minister said.
The meeting will also discuss a detailed procedure for final clearance of new minor irrigation projects and drinking water projects. The members will also deliberate on the DPR of Virdi Large Minor Irrigation Project by Maharashtra- the project that has also received objection from Karnataka.
In July, last year, following a 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.
This was strongly objected by Goa, who through a fresh communication, in August, last year, requested the authority for another joint site inspection.
PRAWAH had its first meeting in Goa in February while the second meeting took place in Bangalore in July, 2024.
