Mahadayi: Govt 'ignored' legal advice against interim plea

 The Karnataka government had ignored the legal team’s advice against filing an interim application before the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal seeking 7 tmcft of the river water.

The state suffered a setback when the Tribunal on Wednesday rejected its plea.
The legal team headed by Fali S Nariman, is learnt to have told the Karnataka government that it was not advisable to file an interim application as the Tribunal was mandated to pronounce its final order in two years.

“When the Tribunal is mandated to pronounce its final order in two years on sharing of water between Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra, we had clearly advised the state government against filing an interim application seeking 7 tmc feet of water,” an advocate in the legal team told Deccan Herald.

Disregarding the suggestion, the state government directed the legal team to file an interim petition forcing it to fight the case vigorously, said the advocate. It was more of a political decision than a move based on legal advice, he added.

Karnataka, in its carefully drafted petition filed before the Tribunal in December last, had said that it should be permitted to lift or pump 7 tmc ft of water annually from the Mahadayi basin to the Malaprabha basin during the months of monsoon to meet irrigation and drinking water needs of the drought hit areas in the Malaprabha basin, mainly the twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad and nearby towns.

However lower riparian state Goa, opposed the diversion saying it harms its interests as well as ecologically sensitive Western Ghats.

‘Dog in the manger’

Expressing disappointment over the verdict, Mohan Katarki, advocate representing Karnataka before the Tribunal said that a lower riparian state which does not use the water and also does not permit the upper riparian state to use the water is a “dog in the manger” as observed by Justice Roberts of the US Supreme Court.

“Has the Tribunal acknowledged “dog in the manger theory” as was disapproved by the US Supreme Court? No. The Tribunal did not note it in its judgement though Karnataka cited this case during the arguments,” Katarki stated.

Though there is pressure on the Karnataka government to file an appeal before the Supreme Court against the Tribunal’s latest order, any decision on this issue should be taken only after a detailed discussion, Katarki opined.