Certain amount of Mahadayi water has been diverted: Goa CM Sawant
Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said "certain amount of the Mahadayi water has been diverted" despite the case of dispute with Karnataka over sharing the river water pending before the Supreme Court.
Sawant also said that a recent letter written by Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar to Karnataka over the river water issue has "no legal sanctity" as the apex court is already hearing the case.
Javadekar last week wrote to Karnataka, stating that environment clearance was not required for its Kalsa Bhanduri drinking water project on the Mahadayi river.
Goa and Karnataka are locked in a dispute over sharing of the Mahadayi river water, and the former has been opposing the Kalsa Bhanduri project.
"We have to admit that certain amount of Mahadayi river water has been diverted. We cannot deny that," Sawant said in an interview to 'Doordarshan' on Tuesday.
He said Goa has already challenged before the Supreme Court the order of Inter-State Water Dispute Tribunal which allowed Karnataka to divert certain amount of water.
"Union Minister Prakash Javadekar initially wrote a letter to Karnataka stating that environment clearance was not required for a project on the Mahadayi," he said recalling the communication written in the month of October.
"Later, we managed to keep the letter in abeyance. But once again, he wrote the letter to Karnataka," the chief minister said referring to the letter issued last week.
"The third letter has no legal sanctity as the dispute between the states on Mahadayi is already being heard by the Supreme Court," Sawant said, adding that his government will never compromise over the Mahadayi river water.
Asked about resumption of mining in Goa, Sawant said certain activity in the mining belt could resume soon after the state gets an approval for the policy to handle dumps (piles of low grade iron ore).
"Since the time I have taken over as chief minister,I have been following up the issue on a day-to-day basis. Whatever we could do, we have done," he said.
Sawant said they have also petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to get political support on the issue, he said.
Goa has already filed a review petition before the Supreme Court, which will come up for hearing in January, he said.
"We want to find a solution for the issue. If something is not possible in the Supreme Court, then as per Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, we can form a mining corporation in the interest of Goan people," the chief minister said.
Ruling out the possibility of auctioning the mining leases, Sawant said, "Considering the existing land related issues, auctioning would cause delay in resumption of mining activity."
Mining came to a halt in Goa in March 2018 after the Supreme Court quashed 88 mining leases and banned extraction of fresh iron ore.
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At least 4 people killed in one of largest Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia
Kyiv, May (AP): At least four people, including three near Moscow, died in one of the largest Ukrainian overnight attacks against Russia since the start of the war, according to Russian local authorities.
A woman was killed after a drone hit her home in Khimki, a city just northwest of Moscow, and two men died in the village of Pogorelki 10 km north of the capital, according to local Gov. Andrei Vorobyev.
In social media updates, Vorobyev said Ukrainian drones had also damaged unspecified “infrastructure” and several high-rises.
In Moscow itself, at least 12 people were wounded in the nighttime strike, mostly near the entrance to the city's oil refinery, mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported. Sobyanin reported the “technology” of the refinery has not been damaged.
Russian defences shot down 81 drones headed for Moscow overnight, state agency Tass reported, citing Sobyanin, marking one of the largest attacks on the Russian capital since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
One man was also killed as a drone struck a lorry in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, according to local authorities.
Russian air defences destroyed 556 drones over Russia overnight, the country's defence ministry said Sunday morning. Shortly after midday local time, it reported that over 1,000 had been shot down or jammed in the previous 24 hours.
Russia's largest airport — Moscow's Sheremetyevo — said drone debris had fallen on its premises without causing damage.
Russia attacked Ukraine with 287 drones overnight on Sunday, 279 of which were shot down or jammed, the Ukrainian air force reported.
According to Ukraine's estate emergency service, the strikes injured 8 people in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region: three in the regional capital of Dnipro, four in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih, and one in the district of Synelkove.
Residential buildings were damaged in all three locations, the service said.
