The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : State to seek clearance for plan to divert Mahadayi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 27, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

State to seek clearance for plan to divert Mahadayi

Staff Reporter

Kumaraswamy will soon lead a delegation to the Centre

K. S. Eshwarappa

BANGALORE: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy will soon lead an all-party delegation to Prime Minster Manmohan Singh seeking facilitation of the plan to divert 7.5 tmcft of water from the Mahadayi river to the Malaprabha Reservoir to meet the drinking water requirement of Hubli-Dharwad.

This was decided at an all-party meeting held here on Wednesday, which was convened to discuss the April 21 order of the Cauvery Water Disputes' Tribunal.

Water Resources Minister K.S. Eshwarappa told presspersons after the meeting that the State would appeal to the Prime Minister to withdraw the order of September 19, 2002, which held in abeyance the "in principle clearance" granted on April 30, 2002 for the drinking water project. This had been done after Goa, through which the Mahadayi (Mandovi in that State) flows to the Arabian Sea, had raised objections.

The Mahadayi originates in Karnataka and most of its course lies in Goa. The catchment area is 2,032 sq.km, of which 375 sq.km is in Karnataka, 77 sq.km in Maharashtra and 1,580 sq.km in Goa. The total yield of the river is about 200 tmcft, and most of the rivers water is not utilised by any of the basin States. Goa objected to Karnataka's plans on two counts: the Mahadayi is a deficit Basin and it could not accept diversion of water by Karnataka, and the diversion would have an adverse impact on the environment and ecology of the basin. Karnataka has said that a diversion of 7.56 tmcft of water during the monsoon would not have an impact on the river flow or the basin.

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