Goemkarponn desk
CHIMBEL: Raising questions over the delay in filing the petition to challenge the approval given to Detailed Project Report (DPR), villagers of Chimbel at an ordinary Gram Sabha held on Sunday unanimously resolved in one voice to protect river Mhadei.
The members further demanded that the approval given to the DPR of Karnataka be withdrawn at the earliest.
Furthermore, it was urged that the government challenge the approval given to the DPR in the court of law by submitting a petition to the suitable judiciary without further delay.
Stating that the approved DPR will prove to be disastrous for the State’s ecology and ecosystem, villager Tukaram Kunkalker demanded that the process of saving river Mhadei be fast-tracked through proper channels. He said, “Government should speed up the process of saving Mhadei on legal fronts with the help of legal documents rather than begging with the Central authorities and carrying forward the fight in an informal way”.
He alleged that the government is delaying the process of filing a petition to challenge the approval given to Karnatakas DPR by the Central Water Commission for its vested interest.
Highlighting the issue, Chimbel BMC Chairman Govind Shirodkar appealed to the government to take necessary steps to declare the eco-sensitive zones of Mhadai as tiger reserves on a priority basis by excluding private properties, residential areas and cultivable lands.
Members of Gram Sabha supported the discussion by raising their hands in support of the protection of Mhadei.
Environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar explained to villagers the necessity of saving Mhadei, Goa’s lifeline. Kerkar discussed the current status of the water dispute and guided the villagers about a possible solution that can be implemented to restrain Karnataka from diverting the Mhadei river water.
