Goa appoints 'Pandit' to fight for Mhadei
PTI, PANAJI | 05 February 2014 21:48 IST
Goa government approved the appointment of a senior expert who would document Goa's objection to divert Mhadei river's water by Karnataka and that state's alleged conspiracy to do so, under the guise of needing "drinking water".
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told reporters here today that the cabinet had approved appointment of Chetan Pandit, a former member of the Central Water Commission, as a technical consultant to fight Goa's case against the alleged diversion of Mhadei's river water from Goa to Karnataka, by constructing dams across the inter-state border.
Incidentally, Goa and Karnataka are fighting a case before a water tribunal over the diversion of Mhadei (Mandovi) river water to Karnataka.
"Karnataka has enough rivers which could be used for drinking, but they are eyeing Mhadei river and constructing dams illegally, although there is stay order by the court," Parrikar alleged, mentioning the construction of a dam on the Kalsa-Bhandura tributary.
"The water diversion is completely a conspiracy on the part of the Karnataka government," he alleged.
He said that the technical expert would expose this "conspiracy" with the help of documentation and also present a report to strengthen Goa's claims against water diversion.
Parrikar said that the study would reveal how damming the flow of water would affect bio-diversity of the state located downstream.
"It will also point out, through a water flow parameter study, how the salinity of rivers will increase due to diversion of water and its impact on the local population," he said.
The Mhadei river diversion may be a ploy of the Karnataka government to also merger the whole of Goa into Karnataka.
Freddy Rebello, Canacona.