What the latest churn in unquiet Mahadayi means for Karnataka

The dispute

Attempts at negotiations were initiated by the central government back in 1985. A flashpoint was reached in 2002 after the government of Chief Minister S M Krishna moved to implement a long pending drinking water project by building a canal across two tributaries of the Mahadayi, the Kalasa and the Banduri. The Kalasa-Banduri project aimed to divert 7.56 tmc of water from the Mahadayi to the Malaprabha river to service the drinking water needs of parched Belagavi, Dharwad and Gadag. The NDA government at the Centre cleared the project, but it was opposed by the BJP government of Manohar Parrikar in Goa at the time.

Goa approached the Centre in 2002 seeking a Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal to assess “available utilisable water resources in the basin at various points and allocation of this water to the three basin states keeping in view priority of the use of water within basin”. It argued that the Kalasa-Banduri project would cause immense damage to fragile ecosystems in protected areas of the Western Ghats in Goa. In the face of Goa’s protests, the Centre put the final clearance for the Kalasa-Banduri project on hold.

After the JD(S)-BJP coalition took power, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy decided to start construction on the project at Belagavi in September 2006. Goa went to the Supreme Court seeking the creation of a Tribunal to settle the water-sharing issue. With no prospects of a negotiated agreement in sight, the UPA government eventually set up the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal on November 16, 2010.

Karnataka believes drinking water requirements should get precedence in legal disputes, and that since much of the water of the Mandovi eventually empties into the sea, courts would be in favour of allowing the project to go on. “The farmers in the region of the Malaprabha project (where the Mahadayi water will be diverted) are losing their patience… As I have already intimated to you, the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Goa has not reacted favourably to my suggestion to resolve the Mahadayi water disputes through negotiations. I believe a mediated solution is possible under your leadership,” Siddaramaiah wrote to the PM on August 3.

The way ahead

Legal experts in Karnataka are of the view that the Mahadayi Tribunal has only issued interim orders that are not likely to have a bearing on the final verdict, since many of the technical issues are yet to be assessed fully. The government has decided to approach the courts again through its legal consultant for water disputes, Fali S Nariman. The government is also of the view that the dispute can be resolved faster through mediation if Modi were to intervene to bring the states to the negotiating table. The Karnataka House had passed an unanimous resolution on March 30 this year seeking a resolution through mediation.