'Karnataka planting ecological bomb through dams on Mahadeyi'

Stating that the Mahadeyi water dispute issue could not be resolved with the neighbouring states on the party lines, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar today accused Karnataka of planting an "ecological bomb" by building dams upstream.

Speaking in the state legislative assembly on the water dispute issue involving Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra, Parrikar also said that the state government has come up with certain strategies to tackle the water dispute.

Karnataka and Maharashtra have planned dams upstream Mahadeyi river, which meets Arabian Sea near Panaji. The Goa government has raised objections over the diversion, claiming that such an act would hamper the ecology of the coastal state. Karnataka plans to construct at least seven dams and three hydroelectric projects by diverting the water to river Malprabha.

"There are certain issues that cannot be dealt with the governments based on the party lines. All members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) will have to come together, where there is interest of the state," Parrikar said during a discussion on the issue during the Zero Hour.

He said he could try to speak to his Maharashtra counterpart and convince him on the issue. "But it is a dispute, so you cannot handle it on the party lines," the chief minister said.

The chief minister said he himself would not like to tackle the issue on the party lines as it is concerning the interests of Goa.

Parrikar said as far as Karnataka was concerned, the state was going to face the elections, hence there would be lot of one-upmanship in the state in the run up to the polls.
He also accused Karnataka of "not telling the whole truth".

"We brought this issue before the Water Dispute Tribunal, where we proved that Karnataka is not telling the entire truth," he said.

Parrikar said that 78 per cent basin of the entire Mahadeyi river lies in Goa. "And out of all the river basins in Goa, 47 per cent belongs to Mahadeyi," he said.

He stated that constructing dams upstream will increase the salinity in the rivers of the state and also ecologically affect the areas up to the Western Ghats.

"This is an ecological bomb that Karnataka is planting in the form of dams," the chief minister told the House.

He claimed that the Goa government has designed certain strategies to tackle the water dispute, Parrikar refused to reveal them in public.

"When it comes to water, Karnataka has problems with several states as the state is not interested in understanding how best the water can be used," Parrikar alleged.