Mahadayi water dispute: Siddaramaiah seeks meeting with Goa, Maha CMs

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India] Dec 23 (ANI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddarmaiah has called for a meeting with his Maharashtra and Goa counterparts "to arrive at a negotiated settlement" on the long-standing Mahadayi water dispute, as suggested by the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal on September 1, 2016.

In a letter dated December 22, Siddaramaiah sought a meeting with Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and informed that a similar letter has been written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The letter comes after reports emerged that Parrikar had written to Karnataka BJP President B S Yeddyurappa over the same issue.

"A copy of the said letter dated 20.12.2017 has been widely circulated in the social media also. I have also perused the same. I only wish you had replied to my letter since I took the initiative for the negotiated settlement," Siddaramaiah wrote to Parrikar.

"The matter is urgent because the Tribunal has fixed the final hearing of the Reference from 06.02.2018 to 22.02.2018 vide its order dated 30.11.2017," the letter further read.

Siddaramaiah also presented Karnataka's claim in the river body, "I may clarify that the State of Karnataka has claimed 14.98 TMC out of the dependable flow of 199 TMC at 75% dependability (as estimated by the CWC in 2003) which includes drinking water needs in Hubballi-Dharwad, etc of 7.56 TMC (cleared by the Central Government in 2003) and 7 TMC out of the surplus flow for drought-prone areas etc in the Malaprabha basin."

The Karnataka Chief Minister added that his Chief Secretary K Ratna Prabha would soon get in touch with the chief secretaries of the other two Mahadayi Basin states, viz., Maharashtra and Goa.

Karnataka and neighbouring Goa have conflicting interests on the issue of sharing Mahadayi River water. While the river originates n Karnataka, a major part of it flows in Goa.

Karnataka plans to divert waters from the river to Malaprabha basin in the state. (ANI)