Karnataka to move SC against Mahadayi tribunal order

 The state government on Friday decided to file a special leave petition before the Supreme Court against the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal’s interim award rejecting its plea for 7 tmcft of water.

“As per the advice of the Karnataka legal team on water dispute headed by Fali S Nariman, the state government has decided to file a petition before the apex court against the tribunal order,” Irrigation Minister M B Patil told reporters here after a meeting with Nariman and other members of the state’s legal team. “The draft petition is ready and it will be filed within in a week,” he added.

In the petition, Karnataka will also request the apex court for directing the tribunal to delete some of its observations, said a senior official from the Karnataka Water Resources Department, adding that the state apprehended that these observations may impact the final award.

The tribunal headed by J M Panchal, while rejecting the interim application by Karnataka, observed that the state government’s plea seeking diversion of water was not supported by required documents.

The tribunal also did not prefer to rely on the Central Water Commission report—which said the flow of water in Mahadayi river was 199 tmcft per year—on the state government’s argument that the river has sufficient flow of water, as it was strongly contested by Goa.

Though Karnataka has prepared a preliminary report on the proposal to utilise 7 tmcft, the tribunal said the state has not submitted any detailed project report as well as technical feasibility study.

Earlier, the state had in its interim application before the tribunal sought permission to lift or pump 7 tmcft of water annually from the Mahadayi basin to Malaprabha basin during the monsoon months to provide water for drinking as well as irrigation purposes in the parched Belagavi, Gadag and Hubballi-Dharwad region.