Karnataka diverted water from Mahadayi river: Goa minister

Panaji, Jul 28 (PTI):
Goa Water Resources Minister Philip Neri Rodrigues admitted in the state Assembly that Karnataka had diverted the water from Mahadayi river, and said the exact amount taken away cannot be quantified.
On the first day of the three-day Assembly session, the opposition benches cornered the state government on the issue of water diverted from Mahadayi river.
Raising the issued on the floor of the House, Independent MLA Rohan Khaunte asked the state government about the status of the river dispute with Karnataka.
He further sought to know if the Goa government can admit that Karnataka has diverted water from the river and if yes, how much has been taken away.
Khaunte also accused the state government of delaying the filing of the Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court.
Responding to the question, Rodrigues said Special Leave Petition was filed in the SC against the order of the inter-state water dispute tribunal after getting the delay condoned.
The minister admitted that Karnataka had diverted water from the river and claimed that the state government had already prepared a report about it, which has been submitted to the Supreme Court.
We have submitted the report to the court. All the three states have submitted their reports. We cannot table the report, as the case is before the Supreme Court, the minister said.
In a supplementary question, Khaunte asked if a salinity test had been done on Mahadayi river water in Goa, and charged that the state government should have conducted the test in May, when the salinity is high.
To this, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the Jal Shakti ministry had approved the National Institute of Hydrology to be the agency for conducting the test, and the report has been tabled before the apex court.
Goa Forward Party MLA Vijai Sardesai said the state government should have appointed a committee to check the daily loss of water due to the diversion.
The disputed site of the dam should have been declared as a neutral zone, what steps have you taken? After the contempt petition in 2020, the case has not been heard further. The case is postponed to decide on whether virtual or physical hearing, he said.
To this, Rodrigues said the state cannot quantify the amount of water diverted as it is happening at Karnataka’s side.