Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: Advocate General Devidas Pangam today said that no authority could permit the diversion of Mhadei river water, not even the Central government.
“No authority can permit the diversion of Mhadei river water, not even the Central government.
This is just a technical clearance granted by the CWC,’ said Pangam.
He further said that Karnataka needs several other permissions, including that from the Chief Wildlife Warden, who cannot permit water diversion apart from wildlife purposes.
“We will ask the Centre today to provide a DPR copy,” Pangam said.
The Centre haD approved a detailed project report of the Kalasa-Banduri canal construction, thereby meeting the long-pending demand of the north Karnataka region to solve its water crisis.
“Now that the DPR has been approved, we will call for tender and start the work. We will lay the foundation stone for the project,” Chief Minister Bommai had said in the State Assembly.
Earlier, Maharashtra had opposed the diversion of water proposed by Karnataka before a tribunal in 2018. Neighbouring Goa, for which the river is a lifeline, had backed the claim.
The project proposes to divert water from two tributaries of the Mahadayi river (also known as Mandovi) – Kalasa and Banduri – to the Malaprabha river, providing much-needed drinking water to regions in Dharwad, Belagavi, Bagalkote and Gadag among others.
