Will not move SC against Mhadei tribunal award: Goa

Panaji, Aug 23 (IANS) The Goa government will not approach the Supreme Court against the Mhadei inter-state water disputes tribunal's award, for fear of an adverse order, state Water Resources Minister Vinod Palienkar said on Thursday.

Palienkar said that his statements in the past, where he maintained that "not a drop of water" would be allowed to be shared with Karnataka were political in nature and made to keep the opponent in check.

"If we go to the Supreme Court and something untoward happens, then who will be held responsible? " he said.

"The Goa government is happy (with the tribunal's award). The Mhadei Tribunal has given Goa good amount of water," said Palienkar.

Mhadei also known as the Mandovi river, is known as a lifeline in the northern parts of the state. It originates in Karnataka and meets the Arabian Sea in Panaji in Goa, while briefly flowing through the territory of Maharashtra.

On August 14, the tribunal which was hearing a dispute between Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra, for nearly two decades, over sharing of water from the Mhadei river, in its award had allotted 13.42 TMC (including 3.9 TMC for diversion into the depleted Malaprabha river basin) from the Mhadei river basin to Karnataka. 

Maharashtra has been allotted 1.33 TMC.

The inter-state water dispute had flared up in the run-up to the recently concluded state assembly polls in Karnataka, when BJP national president Amit Shah had assured the voters in the southern state, that they would get a share of the Mhadei river soon. 

Shah's statement was made when the dispute was being heard by the Tribunal.