Faced with a catch-22 situation, the Congress party in Goa is torn between local loyalties and party loyalties, but has chosen the former.
When the Congress-ruled Karnataka State is going ahead with a controversial dam and canal project against the wishes of Goa, the State’s local unit had decided to support local loyalties and ask their Karnataka counterparts to stop work as ordered by the Tribunal.
Congress spokesperson Durgadas Kamat admitted that the Karnataka Government was defying a recent Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT) decision to erect a wall across a canal, built to divert water from the Mhadei river which flows in to Goa to the Malaprabha river basin which flows eastwards.
“Reports in the media show that work is still going on at the dam site, despite the order of the Tribunal... We will speak to the Congress Government in Karnataka and ask them to follow orders of the Tribunal. The water of the Mhadei River is important for us,” Kamat told mediapersons.
On Thursday, Chairman of the Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT) JM Panchal who is hearing the dispute between Karnataka and Goa over the Mhadei water ordered the erection of a brick wall to stop diversion of water from the Mhadei river basin to the Malaprabha river basin, until the water dispute between both States is resolved.
Karnataka plans to construct seven dams on the river, aimed at diverting the waters into its water-starved Malaprabha basin. The decision could come as a setback to Karnataka Government’s plans, which was earlier carrying out the work despite protestations from Goa, which demanded the setting up of a Tribunal.
The decision comes as relief to Goa, for whom the Mhadei, also known as the Mandovi River, is known as a lifeline in the northern parts of the State.