Water depleted in Mahadayi due to diversion, says Goa CM Pramod Sawant

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said that the water level in the Mahadayi river basin had reduced as Karnataka has already diverted the river’s flow.

Sawant also told reporters that the Goa government was not interested in any ‘out of court’ settlement to resolve the matter, while adding that he had convinced C T Ravi, BJP’s in-charge of the Goa desk, that Karnataka had already diverted water from the Mahadayi river, against the orders of the apex court.

“There is no question of an out of court settlement. We have filed a contempt petition. We are firm on it... I know water in the Mahadayi basin has reduced now,” Sawant said.

Speaking about his brief conversation with the newly appointed Goa BJP in-charge C T Ravi, earlier this week, Sawant said that he had “convinced” Ravi, that Karnataka had already started diverting the water from the river’s basin.

“I have told C T Ravi, the Karnataka MLA. I have convinced him that the water has been diverted by (your state),” Sawant said. Ravi had arrived in Goa to meet party leaders soon after his appointment as the Goa in-charge.

The chief minister also said that he did not initiate any conversation with Karnataka government’s special representative in the national capital Shankargouda Patil, when the latter had called on him for an unrelated matter, earlier this week.

“I have not discussed anything regarding Mahadayi. I have told him we do not want to indulge in any discussion on the issue,” Sawant said. Patil had urged both the chief ministers to resolve the ongoing dispute via dialogue.

Goa and Karnataka are battling out a two decade-long dispute over the sharing of the Mahadayi 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 nala project claiming it would cause “ecological devastation” in Goa.