PANAJI
Even as the Central government has yet to reconstitute the Mhadei Progressive River Authority for Welfare and Harmony (PRAWAH), the Goa government will once again urge the outgoing Chairman P M Scot to convene a meeting and conduct an inspection of the Mhadei river basin.
Minister for Water Resources Subhash Shirodkar informed The Goan that a reminder letter will be sent to the Chairman this week.
“There was a code of conduct earlier. Now that it has been lifted, we will send a reminder letter to the PRAWAH Chairman this week to hold the meeting,” he said.
Notified in May 2023 following a request from the Goa Government, the Jal Shakti Ministry appointed its members and a part-time director only in July, while the three riparian states waited until September 2023 to nominate their representatives.
The Union Ministry is likely to appoint a new head for PRAWAH, as the incumbent chairman, a member of the Central Water Commission (CWC), was appointed for only three months or until a regular chief is appointed, or until further orders.
The Centre has communicated fresh recruitment rules to Goa, Karnataka, and Maharashtra to appoint new full-fledged members.
Currently, Goa is represented by Subhash Chandra, IAS, who is the Secretary WRD on the Authority whereas Karnataka is represented by Rakesh Singh (IAS), the additional chief secretary WRD and Maharashtra by Milind Naik, chief engineer of WRD for the Konkan division.
