Goa denies having talks with Karnataka over Mahadayi water
Panaji, July 26 : Months after Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's pre-election overtures to Karnataka BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa, expressing willingness to work out an amicable settlement to the Mahadayi river water issue, Goa's Water Resources Minister Vinod Palienkar told the state assembly that no agreement or negotiation has taken place with the neighbouring state.
"The government of Goa has not agreed or has not negotiated with the state of Karnataka on sharing the water of Mahadayi river," Palienkar said in a written reply tabled during the ongoing monsoon session of the Goa Legislative Assembly.
In the run-up to the recent Karnataka state assembly polls, Parrikar in a letter to Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s chief ministerial candidate had said: "Government of Goa is willing to consider the request to work out an amicable settlement strictly restricted to drinking water only to the drought-prone areas."
The comment had triggered a furore in Goa, with the opposition accusing Parrikar of selling out the interests of the state for political purposes, even as Parrikar had maintained that those who believed that Goa would not have to share the Mahadayi river water with Karnataka, were living in "fool's paradise".
BJP national President Amit Shah, while campaigning in Karnataka, had also promised to divert the Mahadayi river water to Karnataka six months after polls results were elected, if the BJP won the assembly election.
Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra are currently battling a dispute over the controversial Kalsa-Bhandura Dam project across the Mahadayi river at a central tribunal.
Mahadayi also known as the Mandovi river, is known as a lifeline in the northern parts of the State. It originates in Karnataka and meets the Arabian Sea in Panaji in Goa, while briefly flowing through the territory of Maharashtra. While 78 per cent of the basin of the Mahadayi river lies in Goa, 42.79 per cent of the basin is located in Karnataka and a small portion comes under Maharashtra.
Karnataka also aims to build seven dams at various points along the river, including at Kalsa village, with an objective to divert the flow into what it claims is the water-starved Malaprabha basin in north Karnataka. The state has demanded that Goa allow the transfer of over seven TMC water to tide over its irrigation and drinking water needs.
Diversion of the water was one of key issues in the north Karnataka region during the recently concluded assembly election.
On Wednesday, the Goa government claimed that Karnataka had removed two out of the three blockades on water diversion conduits built illegally by the Karnataka government along the Mahadayi river, and that the water is already being diverted from the Mahadayi river to the Malaprabha river basin in the southern state.
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Complainants hail HC order dismissing CM's petition challenging Guv's order
Bengaluru (PTI): The complainants, who were granted sanction by the Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot after they sought an order for probe from the special court against the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in a site allotment case, on Tuesday hailed the High Court's verdict dismissing his petition challenging the approval.
The Chief Minister had challenged the approval given by Gehlot for an investigation against him in the alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) in a prime locality.
The Governor on August 16 accorded sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for the commission of the alleged offences as mentioned in the petitions submitted to him by the three complainants -- Abraham T J, Snehamayi Krishna and Pradeep Kumar S P.
“We had petitioned in the High Court seeking the dismissal of Siddaramaiah's plea. Whatever objections we had filed, the order has come accordingly, which is a matter of pleasure for us,” Abraham told reporters soon after a single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna dismissed Siddaramaiah’s petition.
When told that the Chief Minister may challenge the order in the division bench, Abraham said: “Let him challenge in the division bench. He will use his legal rights. Since he is moving the (High Court's) division bench, we are filing a caveat there.”
Krishna said: “We had brought to the notice of the High Court that Siddaramaiah’s role is there in the irregularities. Accordingly, the Honourable Court gave its order.”
Krishna claimed that there was "unshakable" documentary evidence available against the Chief Minister. “He will lose whichever court he goes to."
After completing the hearings on the petition in six sittings from August 19, Justice Nagaprasanna on September 12 reserved the verdict.
On August 19, Siddaramaiah moved the High Court challenging the legality of the Governor's order.
