Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal gets one more year to submit report

The Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal established to address water-sharing disputes between Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra has been granted one-year extension to submit its report and decision.

According to a gazette notification issued on Monday, the tribunal has requested an extension for submitting its further report.

”…the Central Government hereby extends the period of submission of further report by the said Tribunal for a further period of one year with effect from 20th August, 2023,” the notification read.

The tribunal was originally required to submit its findings within three years from its constitution but due to various reasons, the deadline has been extended multiple times.

The Centre had initially set the effective date of the tribunal’s constitution as August 21, 2013, and accordingly, the deadline for submitting the report was set for August 20, 2016.

Subsequently, the tribunal requested two further extensions, with the deadlines extended to August 20, 2017, and August 20, 2018, respectively.

Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and the central government made additional references to the tribunal, leading to the need for further reports. The deadline for these supplementary reports was also extended on multiple occasions.

The issue of water sharing from the Mahadayi river has been a contentious one between the states concerned.