Mhadei river water dispute: JP Nadda promises to stop letter exchange over Kalasa-Banduri

Amid the ongoing dispute with Karnataka over Mhadei river water, BJP National Working President JP Nadda has assured the Goa party unit, that the 'letter-writing' between the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Karnataka government over the contentious Mhadei interstate water dispute issue will stop, Goa's Ports Minister Michael Lobo said.

In a letter written by the Union Ministry's Mohit Saxena who is a Scientist in the Impact Assessment Division (MoEF), to the Chief Engineer of Karnataka Netravati Nigam Limited, the former informed that the decision was taken keeping in mind the pending petitions related to the project by the Goa and Karnataka governments before the Ministry, as well as a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the Goa government against Karnataka before the top court, in which Goa had issued notice to the southern state. However, Union Ministry for Environment and Forests headed by Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday, December 18, suspended its letter written in October 2019 that gave a green approval to Karnataka's Rs 841 crore Kalasa-Banduri water diversion project.

READ: Goa CM: Clearance for Kalasa Banduri can't be given without hearing us

Close-Door meeting 

Lobo on Friday apprised about the closed-door meeting between BJP MLAs, top officials along with Nadda in regards to the issue of the Mhadei river water diversion. The meeting lasted for 45 minutes.

At the meeting, Nadda said that he is seized of the matter and the Chief Minister has spoken to him in Delhi on two occasions and he would put those letters to rest. He further said that the issue of giving letters should stop because the matter is before the Supreme Court and we have a strong case for the Mhadei.

JP Nadda was in Goa to address a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act rally in Panaji on Friday.

READ: Goa: Oppn calls out CM Sawant as MoEF gives a nod to Kalasa-Banduri project again

Two-decade long dispute

Goa and Karnataka have been engaged in a two-decade-long inter-state dispute over the Mhadei river waters. The conflict between the two states intensified when two months before the Karnataka Assembly bypolls, the MoEF approved Karnataka's Rs. 841 crore Kalasa-Banduri canal project.

The Goa government has been opposing the project which would divert the Mhadei river waters basin to the deficit basin of the Malaprabha river. The Mhadei river originates in Karnataka and faces the Arabian Sea near Panaji in Goa. The river also briefly flows through Maharashtra.

READ: MoEF suspends letter that gave nod to Kalasa-Banduri project

READ: Goa Congress protests in Delhi, demands rollback on Kalasa-Banduri dam project

(with inputs from agencies)