Mahadayi dispute: Digambar Kamat lashes out at Goa CM for leaving the state 'high & dry'

Opposition parties in Goa slammed the BJP-led state government after the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti formally notified the decision of Mahadayi Interstate Water Disputes Tribunal. The Ministry had formally notified the ‘report cum final decision’ on Thursday in the official gazette, paving way for Karnataka to proceed with its river diversion project, which was not welcomed by the Opposition parties in Goa. 

Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat, on Friday, put out a tweet criticising the notification by the Jal Shakti Ministry, calling it a complete 'betrayal of Goa.' Kamat tweeted, "While listening to high assurances of Goa CM on one side and one the other side action of Jal Shakti Ministry to notify Mhadei (Mahadayi) Water Dispute Tribunal Award, Goa is left High & Dry."

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'Unnecessarily politicising Mahadayi dispute'

Earlier on Wednesday, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had accused the opposition parties of "unnecessarily politicising" the Mahadayi water dispute with Karnataka. The two neighbouring states are locked in a dispute over sharing of the Mahadayi river water, and Goa is opposed to the Karnataka government's Kalsa Bhanduri project on the river.

Speaking to reporters, Sawant said, "Goa will 110 per cent win the case in the Supreme Court". The Goa government has filed a special leave petition in the apex court challenging the award given by Inter-State Water Dispute Tribunal on Mahadayi river.

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The Dispute 

The Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal had passed the order on August 14, 2018, allocating 13.42 TMC water (including 3.9 TMC for diversion into the depleted Malaprabha river basin) from the Mahadayi river basin to Karnataka. Maharashtra was allotted 1.33 TMC water while Goa was given 24 TMC in the final decision of the tribunal.

The UPA-2 government had constituted Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal in 2010. Karnataka government, which has locked horns with the neighbouring Goa on the larger issue of sharing Mahadayi River water between both the states, had petitioned the tribunal seeking the release of 7.56 TMC feet water for the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project. 

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