Goa officials inspect halted Kalasa-Banduri irrigation project in Belagavi

The Kannada organisations voiced concerns that the team, comprising members from Goa, would produce a biased report

An investigation team, formed by the Goa government, on Sunday visited the halted Kalasa-Banduri irrigation project in Kanakumbi, Belagavi district, to inspect the ongoing project work in the Mahadayi river basin, officials familiar with the matter said. The visit came amid strong opposition from pro-Kannada organisations.

The eight-member PRAWAH team inspected around a dozen project sites under heavy police protection (HT)

The eight-member progressive river authority for welfare and harmony (PRAWAH) team inspected around a dozen project sites under heavy police protection. Over a hundred police personnel were deployed in Kanakumbi village to ensure the safety of the team, one of the official said.

Belagavi SP Bhimashankar Guled said: “Due to the opposition from Kannada factions, we provided protection to the visiting team.” He said that despite the threat, no protests were staged during the team’s visit. “We ensured protection for the Goa team given the potential threat from Kannada organisations.”

Meanwhile, the Kannada organisations voiced concerns that the team, comprising members from Goa, would produce a biased report. They urged the central government not to consider the team’s findings and warned of statewide protests if the team’s visit was not prevented.

“We regret our government not prohibiting this non-constitutional team’s inspection of the halted Kalasa-Banduri project,” said Ashok Chandaragi, convenor of the Kannada organisations’ steering committee. He called for the Karnataka government to establish its own fact-finding committee to counter Goa’s perceived violation of the Mahadayi water sharing tribunal’s rulings.

Union minister Pralhad Joshi, representing the Hubballi-Dharwad constituency, dismissed the significance of the visit, stating that the report would not be taken seriously. “The assignment of this team by the Goa CM is merely a distraction for Goans. The committee lacks constitutional authority,” he asserted.

Belagavi BJP MP and former Karnataka chief minister Jagadish Shetter called the visit as unofficial and not impacting the tribunal’s proceedings. “The team’s visit and subsequent report should not be taken seriously,” he said.

The team is scheduled to visit Mahadayi river water project sites in Maharashtra and Goa later this week, intending to submit its report to the central government rather than to the Mahadayi water sharing dispute tribunal.

Ashok Chandaragi informed HT that the tribunal, led by Justice JM Panchal, had allocated 3.90 TMC ft of water to Karnataka from the Mahadayi river in April 2018. This decision was upheld by the Supreme Court on February 20, 2020, despite a challenge from the Goa government.

The central water resources commission’s revised report in 2022 allowed Karnataka to use 1.78 TMC ft from the Kalasa unit of the river for drinking water purposes, exempting certain forest and environmental regulations to facilitate project development.

Goa chief minister Pramodh Savant recently said in a post on X that the team’s report would significantly impact the Mahadayi river water-sharing issue among Goa, Karnataka, and Maharashtra.