A decision by the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court to direct the Goa government to set up a tiger sanctuary in the Western Ghats region has evoked mixed reactions and set off a debate on its implications for Karnataka’s Mahadayi project.
As per the verdict, the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and surrounding areas should be upgraded as a tiger reserve within three months from the date of judgment. It was delivered on July 24 by a bench of Justice Mahesh Sonak and Justice Bharat P Deshpande, on a public interest litigation petition filed by Goa Foundation’s Claude Alvares.
Some environmentalists believe that the judgement, if implemented, will pre-empt the Karnataka government from taking up the Kalasa and Banduri nala projects in the Mahadayi-Malaprabha river basin. But forest and irrigation officers of Karnataka say the order will not stop the projects.
Some environment activists say that if properly implemented, the judgement could have the effect of stopping any irrigation project in the eco-sensitive zone surrounding Khanapur forests, the birth place of the Mahadayi, Malaprabha, Tilari rivers and streams like Kalasa and Banduri.
An activist, who did not wish to be named, and who has approached the Supreme Court in the past, said the two State governments had a legal and moral responsibility to protect the fragile ecosystem of the Western Ghats that was the birth place of the rivers.
“The judgement comes as divine intervention to a two-decade-old prayer of the people of Belagavi, Dharwad-Hubballi, Uttara Kannada districts and of Goa and South Maharashtra,” said Nyla Coelho, member of the Save Western Ghats campaign. She was part of the Sahyadri Ecologically Sensitive Area (SESA) proposal which was considered by the Karnataka government expert panel on Western Ghats.
Farmers raise questions
However, farmers groups in Karnataka have taken a different view. Vijay Kulkarni, president of the Kalasa Banduri Horata Samiti, felt that this judgement would impede the progress on Kalasa-Banduri nala projects. “This is another conspiracy by the Government of Goa to delay the Mahadayi basin projects. What are MPs and MLAs in Karnataka doing?’‘ he asked. He urged the Karnataka government to announce that it will go ahead with the projects despite the Goa High Court judgment.
However, Karnataka government officers say the order would not stop Karnataka from constructing the Kalasa-Banduri projects. “It could have minimal impact on such efforts, if at all,” said a senior officer. “Since the project area lies in the tiger corridor, we have already applied for permission from the National Wildlife Board. It will seek an opinion of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, while processing our file. Once we get the clearance, we will go ahead with the project,” a Karnataka Niravari Nigama officer said. “All the concerns being raised by the environmentalists now have been addressed by the Mahadayi River Water Disputes Tribunal in 2018 itself,” the officer said.
Background of the dispute
Kalasa, Banduri and two other streams born in Belagavi district are part of the Malaprabha-Mahadayi river basin. Mahadayi is a west-flowing river and Malaprabha is an east-flowing river.
As per the revised project report, the Kalasa project aims at diverting the Kalasa, Halatara and Surla streams from west to east and lift their water into the Malaprabha near Kanakumbi in Khanapur. The Banduri project aims at channelling the east-flowing nala into the Malaprabha river. This augmented supply in the Malaprabha will address drinking water needs of drier districts like Dharwad and Gadag, as per the government.
Engines in the two lift irrigation sites will lift water from the streams during monsoon months and store in three check dams to be built in forest areas. As much as 65 hectares of forest land will be cleared and compensatory afforestation will be taken up in Athani in Belagavi district, as per the plan.
