Greens slam Goa govt inaction over Mahadayi diversion

Say Ktaka has completed 80 pc of Kalasa canal

“The idea is to present us with a fait accompli at the preliminary hearing of the tribunal,” said Mhadei Bachao Abhiyan general secretary Rajendra Kerkar.

Kerkar and other green activists here are far more annoyed with the Goa government for its “soft approach” on the inter-state water dispute. “The state government should have lobbied strongly for the tribunal to be expedited,” he told Deccan Herald.

The Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal, set up on the directive of the Supreme Court last year, will have its preliminary hearing in November. But Karnataka has also taken up the work on the Banduri canal before monsoon, and already a large amount of water from the Kalasa river is being diverted to Malaprabha through the canal, says Kerkar.

Water Resources Minister Felipe Neri Rodrigues said the state government has been monitoring the construction activity in Karnataka and photographic evidence would be presented to the tribunal.

Karnataka began work in 2002 with plans for two dams on the river’s tributaries. In 2006, the Goa government approached the apex court for a stay on the construction.

Stuck for approvals for the dams from the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment,  Karnataka is on an overdrive to channelise the waters from the Mahadayi basin, says Kerkar.

The Mahadayi  runs through 35 km in Karnataka, and 52 km in Goa.