Mahadayi row: Scientific report 'okays' Karnataka's Kalasa-Banduri project, Mhadei activists in Goa see red 

A recent scientific report on the Mahadayi river water budget has allayed fears of the Kalasa-Banduri river diversion project proposed by Karnataka ecologically impacting Goa.

 

The paper – ‘The water budget of the Mahadayi River and its implications for the inter-State dispute’, by scientists from the CSIR- National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa and the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Hyderabad, published in the Journal of Earth System Sciences has triggered protests in Goa while giving hope for Karnataka that has proposed the Mahadayi-Malaprabha river linking project to provide drinking water to parched districts in north Karnataka.

 

Mahadayi originates in Kanakumbi village in Khanapur taluk, Belagavi, and flows 29 km in Karnataka before entering Goa, where it flows through for 54 km before joining the Arabian Sea.

 

The water-sharing dispute between the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa started way back in the 1980s when Malaprabha dam (in Karnataka) failed to yield enough water to irrigate the fields in its command area. According to a report by the Water Resources Development Organisation (WRDO), there was a deficit of 17 tmc (against an estimated maximum yield of 45 tmc) in the dam and the drought-prone regions (tail-end villages in the Malaprabha basin) could benefit by diverting water from Mahadayi river.

 

Karnataka proposed the Kalasa-Banduri canal project of building two barrages (dams) across Kalasa and Banduri – tributaries of Mahadayi, to divert 7.56 tmc to Malaprabha to supply water to the fields in Malaprabha command area and drinking water to water-starved Hubli-Dharward twin cities, Navalgund (Dharwad) and Nargund (Gadag district), Badami (Bagalkot).

 

The issue reached a flashpoint in 2002 when the Karnataka government during S. M. Krishna's tenure as CM decided to implement the drinking water project by building a canal across two tributaries of the Mahadayi – Kalasa and Banduri, that aimed at diverting 7.56 TMC of water from Mahadayi to Malaprabha river to cater to the drinking water needs of three parched districts of Belagavi, Dharwad and Gadag. 

 

In April 2002, the NDA government gave approval in principle but stayed the project in September after Goa, the lower riparian state and the green brigade opposed the project citing ecological hazard. The then Manohar Parrikar government had argued that the Kalasa-Banduri project would cause immense ecological damage in Goa since the river supports the fragile ecosystem in parts of the Western Ghats located in the territory of Goa.

 

In 2006, a JDS-BJP coalition government in Karnataka brought the dispute to the fore once again with Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy decided to revive building two canals at a cost of Rs 400 crore. With no prospects of a negotiated agreement in sight between the three states, the UPA government eventually set up the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal on November 16, 2010. 

 

The canal work along Kalasa-Banduri (in non-forest areas pending clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests) was stalled and the government was forced to give an undertaking which barred automatic flow of water into the canals till the Tribunal gave its decree.

 

The tribunal passed the order in August 2018 where it granted Karnataka a total of 13.42 tmcft of water -- 8.02 tmcft for the proposed Mahadayi Hydroelectric project, 1.5 tmcft for irrigation and diversion of 1.72 tmcft from Kalasa nala and 2.18 tmcft from Banduri nala, the two main tributaries of Mahadayi river. Both the states challenged the Tribunal’s order before the Supreme Court.  

 

The NIO report by scientists K. Anilkumar, D. Shankar and K. Suprit has now earned the wrath of the members of Mhadei Movement in Goa as the report states that Karnataka’s proposed project would not have “much impact” on Goa, but the diversion from the Kalasa tributary could have “significant impact” that is restricted to the northern part of the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa. Also, the ecological impact of the river diversion could be minimised by creating check dams and storage facilities inside the wildlife sanctuary.

 

The researchers have also suggested a solution that the two riparian states could perhaps reach an agreement similar to the one between Goa and Maharashtra on the Tillari dam, where the dam is built upstream on the Maharashtra side with both states having a share of the water.   

 

“While the tribunal has upheld Goa’s contention that the projects would affect navigation in the Mandovi estuary, there is enough information to show the projects have no impact on the Mandovi estuary or the Cumbarjua canal,” stated the report.

 

Members of the Mhadei Movement are now accusing the Pramod Sawant government of “hiding” the report to favour Karnataka.

 

Earlier, the Karnataka chief minister had stated that a detailed project report (DPR) for the Kalasa Nala Diversion Project in the Mahadayi river basin, costing ₹995.30 crore, was approved in March 2023. However, the land acquisition (26,925-hectare forest area) was delayed due to objections from the Goa government. 

 

“The project is currently under review by the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). Since the Supreme Court has clarified that Karnataka can seek clearance from the Centre, the Union Government must grant approval without further delay. Also, a proposal for the Banduri Nala project was submitted in August 2024 to acquire 28 hectares of forest land. With all state-level processes now completed, the Centre must immediately approve the project to ensure timely implementation,” said Siddaramaiah. 

India