Doing everything to oppose Karnataka’s diversion of Mhadei waters: Pramod Sawant

Chief minister Pramod Sawant has said they were doing all they could to oppose Karnataka’s diversion of the Mhadei river waters as Opposition parties questioned the Goa government’s failure in securing a stay over the matter in the Supreme Court.

“There is no question of us compromising Goa’s case in the Supreme Court. We are doing everything we can,” Sawant told the state assembly on Wednesday.

Goa Forward Party lawmaker Vijai Sardesai earlier questioned the state government’s failure as he raised the matter during the question hour. “Will the chief minister explain why after spending ₹1.65 crore on advocates in the Supreme Court, the state government was not able to get a stay? We have not been granted any relief. While we await, Karnataka has begun diverting waters by raising the height of the river bed.”

He added the Supreme Court has been hearing cases related to the matter since 2018 and 2019. “By the time our case comes up, it will be 2024 or 2025,” Sardesai said. He asked Goa to petition the Union government.

Congress lawmaker Carlos Alvares Ferreira also blamed the state government for the failure in securing relief.

In February, Goa moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the Central Water Commission’s approval to Karnataka to divert the waters. It argued that Karnataka should not be allowed to divert any water as the Mahadayi is water deficient. Karnataka moved the court arguing the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal erred in granting it only 13.42 TMC of water.

Goa has accused Karnataka of illegally diverting waters via a network of canals constructed despite an assurance in 2017 that no further work would be carried out. In his budget speech, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on July 7 promised to take forward the project as soon as they secure environmental and forest clearances.