Goa rules out out-of-court settlement on Mahadayi

In the face of pressure from the BJP central leadership and overtures from his counterpart in Karnataka, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday insisted that his government was not keen on an out-of-court settlement over the Mahadayi (Mhadei in Goa) interstate water-sharing issue.

"There is no question of any out-of-court settlement. We are firm on our stated position in the Supreme Court," Sawant told reporters here.

Earlier this week, Union Minister for Coal and Mines and Karnataka MP Pralhad Joshi had urged the chief ministers of Karnataka and Maharashtra to work towards a mutually negotiated settlement on the Mahadayi water-sharing issue, rather than bank on a tribunal award or a Supreme Court verdict.

Sawant, however, said that no one had spoken to him about the issue and that no proposal had been sent to him. "We will not make even the smallest compromise on the subject," he said.

Two days ago, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had also said that he was due to meet Sawant in Goa for discussions on Mahadayi.

The Mahadayi river, also referred to as Mandovi in Goa, is considered as a lifeline in the northern parts of the coastal state. It originates in Karnataka and meets the Arabian Sea in Panaji in Goa, while briefly flowing through the territory of Maharashtra.

Last year, the Mahadayi interstate waster dispute tribunal — hearing a dispute between Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra for nearly two decades over sharing of water from the river — had allotted 13.42 TMC (including 3.9 TMC for diversion into the depleted Malaprabha river basin) from the Mahadayi river basin to Karnataka. Maharashtra has been allotted 1.33 TMC. Both governments have appealed to the Supreme Court against the provisions of the award.

Subsequently, the Goa government also filed a disqualification petition in the Supreme Court after the Goa Water Resources department claimed that canals had been surreptitiously built in the Mahadayi basin in Karnataka to divert water to the deficit Malaprabha river basin.