Panaji, (Samajweekly) After the Supreme Court listed hearing of the Mhadei river issue for November 29, Goa Forward Party President Vijai Sardesai on Saturday demanded a House Committee meeting in this matter, which was last held in February.
The bordering states of Goa and Karnataka are currently involved in a dispute over the Kalasa-Banduri dam project across the river.
“Call the House Committee meeting now. After a long delay, the Supreme Court has finally listed the matter for hearing on Wednesday (November 29). I demand an urgent review meeting of the House Committee on Mhadei on Monday to discuss this most important issue Goa faces today.
“I urge Water Resources Minister Subhash Shirodker to take the lead. As I have always maintained, this is a matter of life and death,” said Sardesai, an MLA from the opposition group.
According to Sardesai, the last meeting of the House Committee was held on February 8.
On that day, Subhash Shirodkar, after chairing the preliminary meeting of the House Committee, had said that the battle for Mhadei water diversion will be fought at the administrative and Supreme Court levels.
“We have to fight (this case) on the administrative and Supreme Court levels. We should be perfect in submission at the administrative level and should make our defence strong in the Supreme Court. These suggestions will play an important role,” Shirodkar had said.
The BJP government in Goa is under attack since the Central Water Commission approved the Detailed Project Report prepared by Karnataka for the disputed Kalasa-Banduri dam. The Goa government was then forced to appoint a House Committee over the issue.
