After being rebuked by the Goa government for trying to find an out-of-court settlement to the Mahadayi water-sharing row, Karnataka has again sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to find an amicable solution.
“We are left with no option but to demand the Prime Minister’s intervention as the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal is keen on resolving the row through consultations,” Water Resources Minister M. B. Patil told The Hindu .
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had written to his Goa counterpart Manohar Parrikar requesting him to indicate a date for a meeting of the CMs of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra to find an amicable solution to the Mahadayi row through consultations.
Initially, Goa’s Water Resources Minister Vinod Palyekar had responded positively to the move. But he has now done a U-turn by ruling out any out-of-court settlement. While the Goa Chief Minister is yet to respond, Mr. Palyekar has accused Karnataka of playing “dirty tricks” on the issue.
Responding sharply to this, Mr. Patil said the effort to find an out-of-court settlement was made on the tribunal’s suggestion. “As the head of the Indian federal structure, the Prime Minister should now intervene and help resolve the inter-State row,” Mr. Patil said.
Pointing out that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had intervened in the Telugu Ganga issue and the Narmada river water-sharing row, he demanded that Mr. Modi follow suit.
He also put the onus of convincing the PM on the State BJP leadership. “The BJP leaders from Karnataka should now play a proactive role in convincing the PM about the dire need to resolve the row. Otherwise, people of the State will teach them a lesson in the forthcoming Assembly elections,” he said.
