Kannada organisations have criticised the joint statement of the Chief Ministers of Goa and Maharashtra that they will fight the Mahadayi issue against Karnataka.
They said that the statement of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant that they will jointly oppose Karnataka’s efforts to take up irrigation projects in the Mahadayi basin, is highly condemnable.
Ashok Chandaragi, convenor of Kannada organisations in Belagavi district, has said that Mr. Shinde and Mr. Sawant have erred in understanding the Kalasa Bandori Nala scheme.
“Mr. Shinde visited Goa on Saturday. He said that Maharashtra did not have any dispute with Goa, but the two States will jointly fight Karnataka. Their statements show that they have completely misunderstood the issue. Karnataka’s efforts to divert water from Kalasa and Bandori Nalas to the Malaprabha river basin is justified and does not affect the rights of the other States. The other States should not try to stop this,” he said.
Goa and Maharashtra have opposed the Union government’s decision to accord approval to Karnataka’s detailed project report for the Kalasa-Bandori projects in Mahadayi basin submitted in January 2023.
In 2018, the tribunal adjudicating the inter-State water dispute distributed Mahadayi river waters with 13.42 tmcft water to Karnataka, 1.33 tmcft to Maharashtra and 24 tmcft to Goa. This was notified by the Union government in 2020.
