Mahadayi tribunal to pronounce final award by Aug 20

The Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal is likely to pronounce its final award on sharing of Mahadayi water among Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra before August 20 this year.

The Tribunal, in its communication to Karnataka on Tuesday, said that the final award will be delivered on or before August 20, 2018, on which date the term of the quasi-judicial body expires.

The Tribunal was replying to Karnataka’s plea that it should direct the monitoring committee constituted earlier to take up urgent repair works at Kalasa diversion canals near Kanakumbi in Malaprabha project zone to prevent leakage of water due to heavy rainfall in Kalasa catchment area. The Goa government opposed Karnataka’s request.

While rejecting Karnataka’s plea, the Tribunal said, “No further directions are required to be given to the monitoring committee in the year 2018, more particularly when the award of the Tribunal is to be delivered on or before 20th August.”

Earlier, the Union Ministry of Water Resources, while extending the Tribunal’s tenure till August 20, 2018, had asked it to deliver the final award at or before the end of its term.

The project involves building barrages across Kalasa and Banduri, two tributaries of the Mahadayi river in the Western Ghat region of Belagavi district.