Centre will protect all states’ interests in Mhadei matter, says MoS

Panaji: In a development viewed as awkward for Goa govt, 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 Union govt 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 Aug 2018, the long-running dispute among the three states on sharing Mhadei water concluded at the tribunal stage, with Karnataka’s request for 36.5tmc ft being rejected and an allocation of 13.4tmc ft being granted instead. This included 3.9tmc ft for drinking purposes through diversions, compared with Karnataka’s demand of 7.5tmc ft.

The tribunal also stated that diversion would be allowed only in the five monsoon months — from June 1 to Oct 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 Nov 1 to May 31,” the tribunal, chaired by justice J M Panchal, observed.

Following the tribunal’s Aug 14, 2018, award, Goa govt filed a civil appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the decision. Special leave was granted by the Supreme Court in Aug 2024.

More recently, tate govt 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 131tmc, compared with the tribunal’s estimate of 188.1tmc.

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, Aug 2024’.