Goa govt files contempt plea against Karnataka for illegal diversion of Madhei water
Oct 06, 2020
Panaji (Goa) [India], October 6 : The Goa government has filed a contempt petition against the State of Karnataka for "illegal diversion" of the Madhei water, State Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Tuesday.
"Contempt petition has been filed in the Supreme Court today against Karnataka for illegal diversion of Madhei waiter. We will continue to fight for our right," Sawant tweeted.
The Goa Chief Minister had yesterday said that this contempt petition is, in addition to an earlier contempt filed in the apex court in the month of August 2018, when Karnataka had engaged in a similar "mischief".
"From 2002 till 2020, the Mahadayi water dispute is going on between Goa, State of Karnataka and Maharashtra. In 2006-07, the Congress government gave permission to construct the Virdi dam. I have raised the issue of salinity in the river. After the salinity study, we will get to know about the water problem," Sawant had said.
"Karnataka was saying that the water is being wasted. I have convinced them that this water is not getting wasted. We are filing a contempt petition against Karnataka for the diversion of water. It will be filed within two days," he said.
BJP is the ruling party in both Goa and Karnataka.
According to Goa Chief Minister, the Mahadayi water dispute between three co-basins in Goa, Karnataka, and Maharashtra occurred in 2002 when the coastal state made a formal complaint with the Ministry of Water Resources, Union of India and requested for setting up of a Tribunal under the "Interstate River Water Disputes Act 1956" as Karnataka had planned schemes to "divert 7.56 TMC of Mahadayi Water on Malaprabha Basin for alleged drinking water needs of Hubli Dharwad twin cities and enroute villages".
Sawant had said that he met Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar over the issue.
"At our request and consistent follow-up, the Jal Shakti Ministry has appointed the National Institute of Hydrology to study and assess the salinity in Mahadayi basin. This will help the State in its cause," he had said.
