Oppn submits adjournment notice to Speaker on Mahadayi issue

Opposition parties in Goa submitted an adjournment notice on the Mahadayi water diversion issue to Speaker Rajesh Patnekar on Tuesday, before the commencement of the one-day session of the state Assembly. The notice, signed by MLAs of the Goa Forward Party (GFP), Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), Congress and Independent MLA Rohan Khaunte, was submitted to the speaker at 9 am.

The one-day session of the Assembly has been called by Governor Satya Pal Malik to ratify a constitutional amendment bill that extends reservation to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies by another 10 years. The opposition has a combined strength of 10 -- including five MLAs of the Congress, three of the GFP, one from the MGP and one Independent -- in the 40-member House.

The notice mentioned that the House should be adjourned to discuss the approval/NOC given to Karnataka by Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry for taking up the "so called" drinking water project on the Mahadayi river. The opposition parties have also said in the notice that there is "likelihood of misuse of approval/NOC for setting up irrigation project by Karnataka".

They also want the House to discuss "diversion of the west flowing river Mahadayi into the east flowing river Malaprabha". The motion also mentioned that there is an increase in the salinity of rivers in Goa due to which there will be adverse affects on ecology, agriculture, 'khazan' lands (lands reclaimed from river or sea) and drinking water in the state.

Goa and Karnataka are locked in a dispute over sharing of the Mahadayi river water. Goa is strongly opposing the Kalasa Banduri project proposed to be built by Karnataka on the river. The project is aimed at providing drinking water to three north Karnataka districts by diverting water from the Mahadayi, the lifeline of Goa, into the Malaprabha river.

The Goa government has already challenged before the Supreme Court the order the of Inter-State Water Dispute Tribunal which allowed Karnataka to divert a certain amount of water from the river..

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