MHADEI PRAWAH…
— The Jal Shakti Ministry was notified in May of last year and only appointed members and a part-time director in July after receiving a request from the Goa government.
— Center has sent new recruitment guidelines to Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Goa in order to select new, full-fledged members.
— Subhash Chandra, an IAS cadre and the secretary of water resources, currently represents Goa on the Authority.
— The other members are Maharashtra’s Milind Naik, chief engineer of the WRD for the Konkan division, and Karnataka’s IAS cadre officer Rakesh Singh, additional chief secretary of the WRD.
Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: After it was established in July 2023, the Mhadei Progressive River Authority for Welfare and Harmony (PRAWAH) is being reconstituted by the central government in less than a year.
The Jal Shakti Ministry was notified in May of last year and only appointed members and a part-time director in July after receiving a request from the Goa government. The three riparian states did not designate their representatives until September 2023.
Sources say that the Union Ministry will probably name a new leader for PRAWAH because the current chairman, P M Scot, a member of the Central Water Commission (CWC), was only appointed for a three-month period, or until a permanent chief was named or until further directives were given.
Additionally, according to sources, the Center has sent new recruitment guidelines to Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Goa in order to select new, full-fledged members.
Subhash Chandra, an IAS cadre and the secretary of water resources, currently represents Goa on the Authority. The other members are Maharashtra’s Milind Naik, chief engineer of the WRD for the Konkan division, and Karnataka’s IAS cadre officer Rakesh Singh, additional chief secretary of the WRD.
Additionally, Ashok Kumar V, the director of appraisal for CWC in Bengaluru, serves as the Secretary of the Authority, while Virendra Sharma, the chief engineer of CWC in Bengaluru, holds additional responsibility as the member for monitoring and regulations.
There aren’t any official appointments; almost every member is in charge of PRAWAH in addition to their regular duties. Sources stated that the Center wants full-time senior officers to lead the charge due to the gravity of the situation.
Mhadei PRAWAH was established by the Jal Shakti ministry in order to facilitate adherence to and execution of the Mhadei Water Dispute Tribunal’s 2018 final ruling.
The Authority decided to settle the matter “amicably” during its one and only meeting, which took place in Goa in February of this year.
