All states have to obey SC order: Angadi on Mahadayi issue

Bengaluru: Union minister Suresh Angadi on Friday, February 27 said that all the states concerned will have to obey the order of the Supreme Court on the Mahadayi river water sharing issue.

He said there was no question of someone being happy or unhappy as the apex court’s order have to be followed by everyone.

His statement comes in the wake of Union Ministry of Jal Shakti’s notification issued on Thursday on the award of Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal, pronounced in August 2018, which allowed Karnataka to divert water from Mahadayi river by constructing a dam at Kalasa and Banduri.

The notification came a week after the Supreme Court passed an interim order allowing the application filed by Karnataka in which it sought that the tribunal’s award is notified.

“It’s a direction of the Supreme Court (to notify the award). All the states will have to obey the SC order,” Angadi, who is Minister of State for Railways, said.

“They (SC) have given directions to the central government to notify the award. The question does not arise whether someone is happy or unhappy,” he added.

The minister was talking to reporters near Panaji, where he will take part in a seminar organized by the Railway Ministry.

Karnataka’s Kalasa and Banduri projects are aimed at providing drinking water to three districts in the state- Belagavi, Gadag, and Dharwad- which go parched in summer due to acute water scarcity.

The projects involve diverting water from Mahadayi river, the lifeline of Goa, into the Malaprabha river.

As per the tribunal order, Karnataka has been permitted to divert 2.18 TMC of Mahadayi water at the proposed Banduri dam and 1.72 TMC at the proposed Kalasa dam.

The notification issued on Thursday reads that the central government shall constitute an authority called ‘Mahadayi Water Management Authority’ to implement the report and final decision of Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal.