Panaji: In a development viewed as awkward for the Goa government, which is seeking to prevent Karnataka from diverting water from the Mhadei river, Union minister of state for railways and Karnataka MP V Somanna said on Thursday that the Union government would safeguard the interests of all three states — Goa, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.
“Discussions are being held on the Mhadei dispute. State interest should be protected. This state and that other state, too. All states are the same: Goa, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. Every state has a right to protect its interests,” Somanna said.
After reporters raised concerns that Goa and its residents are experiencing the effects of Karnataka’s diversion of the Mhadei’s water, Somanna said the dispute has continued for over 50 years and that talks remain ongoing.
“It is a duty of Bharat Sarkar to protect the interests of the states,” Somanna said.
In August 2018, the long-running dispute among the three states on sharing Mhadei water concluded at the tribunal stage, with Karnataka’s request for 36.5 tmc ft being rejected and an allocation of 13.4 tmc ft being granted instead. This included 3.9 tmc ft for drinking purposes through diversions, compared with Karnataka’s demand of 7.5 tmc ft. The tribunal also stated that diversion would be allowed only in the five monsoon months — from June 1 to October 31.
“Even if some inflows are observed into the reservoir(s) during the non-monsoon period, no diversion is permitted out of the inflow during the non-monsoon period from November 1 to May 31,” the tribunal, chaired by Justice J M Panchal, observed.
Following the tribunal’s August 14, 2018, award, the Goa government filed a civil appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the decision. Special leave was granted by the Supreme Court in August 2024.
More recently, the state government submitted to the Supreme Court three documents that it said could have supported Goa’s case but were not presented to the Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal. These were cited to indicate Mhadei basin yields in the range of 108 to 131 tmc, compared with the tribunal’s estimate of 188.1 tmc.
The documents include Central Water Commission (CWC) reports from 1993 and 2019, World Bank documents, and a CWC-prepared document titled ‘Assessment of Water Resources of India, August 2024’.
