PANAJI: Goa brought to the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal's (MWDT) notice various flaws in the
Central Water Commission's (CWC) 2003 report regarding the quantum of water in the
Mhadei river. Karnataka has relied upon this report for staking its claim to a share of the water.
While final arguments in the water dispute between Goa and Karnataka continued before the tribunal on Friday, senior counsel Atmaram N S Nadkarni, stated that Karnataka's yield study of Mhadei water is improvised on the CWC report.
Karnataka's witnesses have deposed before the tribunal based on this report and also relied heavily on it to prepare its yield report. CWC carried out the yield studies from Ganjem, Usgao — also the uppermost spot where tidal influence are felt — to estimate the river flow throughout the year. The flow of the rainwater doesn't end up in the river in entirety, as it evaporates and also recharges the groundwater.
Karnataka has staked claim to a share of 7.56 TMC and largely completed a diversion canal on the Kalsa tributary at Kankumbi, though the requisite environmental clearance and other approvals has not been obtained. Nadkarni substantiated his argument by pointing out how a witness during cross examination last year had admitted reliance on the CWC report. When the contradictory figures of the CWC report were pointed out, the witness was not able to explain the discrepancy.
Further, the senior counsel for Goa questioned the credibility of the report, alleging that it was a bogus report which was never approved and finalized and does bear any official status. Several discrepancies in the CWC report had been pointed out in detail and the tribunal had acknowledged the same. Nadkarni submitted before the tribunal how a witness, himself, had changed his stance and prepared a fresh report in 2017. Herein, he had relied on different data as compared to the data in his earlier 2015 report.
Karnataka has largely completed a diversion canal on the Kalsa tributary
