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Karnataka appears determined to go ahead with plans to divert the waters of Mhadei, originating in the southern state -- a move that will impact on Goa, and on the Konkan region of Maharashtra.
Karnataka irrigation minister H K Patil, who was here in connection with the organisational work of the Congress, dubbed the objections raised by Goa and Maharashtra as pure misconceptions.
"I am confident these wrong assumptions would be cleared once our team of technical experts meets Goan experts", he said, and wondered why Goa has not responded to a request for the meeting in spite of many reminders.
Goa's irrigation minister Ramakant Khalap however said he is still awaiting technical details from Karnataka regarding the Mhadei basin, which would create a basis for bilateral talks. "They have still not supplied the data", he said.
Asked why Karnataka did not attend the tripartite meeting fixed by the Central Water Commission in Delhi on April 18, Patil hedged. "It was postponed," he said. Which is true -- what the minister did not add is that it was postponed because Karnataka did not show up.
The tripartite meeting has been rescheduled for May 18, to be attended by the secretaries of the respective irrigation ministries. The ministers of the three states will subsequently meet, on May 22, under the aegis of the CWC. "I will raise the issue there", states Khalap.
Karnataka plans to construct seven dams and divert the waters of the Mhadei to feed three hydroelectric projects. Goa will be worst hit, since the portion of the river that flows through that state, where it is known as Mandovi, will literally dry up.
Goa covers the major catchment area of 1580 sq kms of the Mhadei basin, while Karnataka covers 375 sq kms. The catchment area in Maharashtra is a mere 76 sq kms.
Goa has objected to the diversion of water from the Mhadei basin to the Malprabha river, which is part of the Krishna basin. As per the national guidelines, no water can be diverted from one basin to the other without an inter-state agreement.
"Both Goa and Maharashtra would benefit from the project", states Patil, claiming that the water left unused in the Arabian Sea could be shared by all the three states by mutual agreement. He admits that the project would primarily benefit Hubli and Dharwar districts, where water is becoming increasingly scarce.
Rather than giving a commitment that Karnataka would rethink about project if convinced that Goa would be effected, Patil shot back, "Why should I simply assume that it is harmful to Goa ?"
Patil's main weapon of defense is the report submitted in 1997 by the Nagpur-based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, which gives a clean chit to the Karnataka proposal.
Prof Rajendra Kerkar, secretary of the Mhadei Bachao Abhiyan, however states that the whole report is misleading, and argues that the technical details and data prepared by the NEERI is contrary to what actually exists in the Mhadei basin.
"We are good neighbours, we do not want to bulldoze Goa as is being projected", says Patil.
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