The Mahadayi Water Tribunal has recommended that a board, called the Mahadayi Water Management Authority, be constituted on the lines of the Cauvery Management Board to ensure the river’s water is equitably used by Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra, according to a statement from the Union Water Resources Ministry.
In its verdict that was submitted to the Ministry on Tuesday, the Mahadayi tribunal has allowed Karnataka to use 5.4 tmcft of river water for drinking, irrigation and dam storage purposes.
Maharashtra has been allowed to use 1.33 tmcft and Goa, a maximum of 24 tmcft for 59 projects provided they adhere to certain ground rules. This will be over and above Goa’s existing utilisation of 9tmcft. It has rejected demands by Karnataka to divert nearly 12 tmcft for hydroelectric projects
The Tribunal, headed by Justice J.M. Panchal, has stated that demands by Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka for future use of the Mahadayi waters aren’t “fully justified” as there were “severe” loopholes in the way the States had calculated their future demands.
The recommendations made by the Tribunal, ought to be adhered to until August 2048.
