Mahadayi River Dispute

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Context:

Government of Goa has sought an early hearing by the Supreme Court in the Mahadayi river sharing issue involving Karnataka.

Relevance:

GS II: Polity and Governance

Dimensions of the Article:

It is the Lifeline of the Indian state of Goa
The Mandovi and the Zuari are the two primary rivers in the state of Goa.
Mandovi joins with the Zuari at a common creek at Cabo Aguada, forming the Mormugao harbour
It rises in the Western Ghats, from the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Belagavi district of Karnataka.
Flowing westward, it enters Goa. Over two-thirds of the river’s stretch lies in Goa (76km).
River Mahadayi joins the Arabian Sea at Panaji, Goa.

The Kalasa Banduri Nala project aims to divert water from Mahadayi to satisfy the drinking water needs of Belagavi, Dharwad, Bagalkot and Gadag districts.
Though the project was first proposed in the early 1980s, it has remained on paper owing to a dispute between Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra.
As per plans, barrages are to be built against Kalasa and Banduri streams — tributaries of Mahadayi — and water diverted towards Karnataka’s parched districts.

In 2002, two-and-a-half decades since the proposal, the Karnataka government decided to implement the project, after the Centre cleared it.
Goa, under its then CM , approached the Centre, urging it to assess the available resources in the river and allocate water to the three basin states — Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Due to the protests in Goa and also due to concerns over ecological damage, the project was put on hold by the then NDA government.
The dispute gained steam in 2006, when the JD(S)-BJP coalition government in Karnataka decided to start work on the project.
Goa then approached the Supreme Court, seeking the creation of a Tribunal to settle the water sharing dispute.
A Tribunal was finally set up by the UPA government in November 2010.

The Tribunal in 2018 awarded 13.42 TMC water from Mahadayi river basin to Karnataka, 1.33 TMC to Maharashtra and 24 TMC to Goa.
In Karnataka’s share, 5.5 TMC was to meet drinking water needs and 8.02 TMC was for hydro-electricity generation.
Of the 5.5 TMC, 3.8 TMC was to be diverted to Malaprabha basin through Kalasa and Banduri Nalas (canals).
This was notified by the Central government in February 2020.

After the Tribunal award, Goa filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court in July 2019, challenging the quantum of allocation.
Subsequently, in October 2020, it filed a contempt petition before the SC, accusing Karnataka of illegally diverting water from the Mahadayi basin.
Civil appeals were also filed by Maharashtra over the dispute.
The project has been a long-standing demand of Karnataka residents set to benefit from it.

-Source: The Hindu