Mahadayi row: Goa's contempt petition against Karnataka an exercise in futility, says AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party in Goa on Friday punched holes in the BJP-led coalition government's legal strategy to file a contempt petition against Karnataka in the ongoing conflict between the two states over the waters of the Mahadayi (Mhadei in Goa) river.

Addressing a press conference in Panaji, AAP Goa spokesperson Suren Tilve said that the move was a belated one and only to fool the people of Goa.

"The contempt petition filed by the Goa government now is an exercise in futility. The Goa government's delay in taking action against Karnataka was a bit too late. This delay is dubious," Tilve said.

"Karnataka has already built a dam and canals and the Goa government did nothing. Karnataka has already diverted the water. The central government has given permission to Karnataka via gazette notification. Karnataka ministers say we do not need permission from the Goa government. So how will the contempt petition help now," Tilve said, adding that for the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance, Karnataka, as compared to Goa, was a more politically significant state with more clout and more number of MPs.

On Tuesday, the Goa government had filed a contempt petition in the apex court, which accused Karnataka of illegally diverting water from the inter-state river basin via the Kalasa-Banduri canal. Sawant has also said that the state government had evidence to back the contents of the petition.

The Chief Minister Pramod Sawant ruling dispensation is already facing flak from the Opposition as well as civil society groups, which have accused the BJP-led coalition government of mishandling the ongoing river water sharing dispute, for broader political gain for the saffron national party.

The Congress has demanded that the Goa government release a white paper on the efforts taken by the administration to safeguard the state's interests in the dispute, while Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said that erstwhile Congress-led coalition governments were responsible for derailing Goa's interests in the contest against Karnataka.

Goa Karnataka are battling out a two decade-long dispute over the sharing of the Mahadayi (also called Mhadei in Goa) river in the Supreme Court, after both parties expressed reservations about the award by the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal in 2018.

Goa has also opposed the diversion of water from the Mahadayi river basin through the Kalasa-Banduri project claiming it would cause “ecological devastation” in Goa.