Bengaluru, Jul 23 (PTI) The Karnataka government on Wednesday strongly objected to Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's remarks in the state assembly on the Mahadayi river water-sharing issue, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said.

The objection came after Sawant told the Goa assembly that Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav had assured him the Centre would not, under any circumstances, clear the Mahadayi project—a claim Karnataka termed "shocking".

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On Tuesday, Sawant informed the legislative assembly that the Goa government would file a contempt petition in the Supreme Court against Karnataka for carrying out activities aimed at diverting Mahadayi river water.

The two coastal states are locked in a decades-old dispute over the sharing of Mahadayi river water.

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BJP-ruled Goa has accused Congress-governed Karnataka of "planning to divert the river by constructing two dams".

The Mahadayi river originates in the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka and flows through Goa and Maharashtra before emptying into the Arabian Sea at Panaji.

In a statement on Wednesday, Patil said, "The official statement made by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in the Legislative Assembly—that Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has informed him the Centre will, under no circumstances, approve the Mahadayi project—has come as a shock to Karnataka."

Patil said the Mahadayi water dispute was adjudicated under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act by a tribunal that delivered its final verdict, which was later notified in the Gazette of India and has since come into effect.

He blamed the Centre for "failing to grant necessary clearances for projects" that face no legal bar and have been settled by the tribunal.

"Considering the interests of the people and farmers of North Karnataka, I urge the central government to immediately grant approval," Patil said.

Karnataka had sought diversion of 7.56 TMC ft of water from the Kalasa-Banduri project to the Malaprabha river basin, of which 3.90 TMC ft was allocated to the state. The tribunal had permitted this inter-basin diversion.

To implement the project, Karnataka submitted a proposal to the National Tiger Conservation Authority seeking clearance for 10.6 hectares of forest land within the Kali and Sahyadri tiger reserves—which Goa opposed.

"In this background, on January 23, 2024, the NTCA recommended that the forest area be permitted for use," Patil said.

"However, in the 77th, 79th, and 80th meetings of the National Board for Wildlife, the matter has been unnecessarily delayed without resolution. The Supreme Court has not issued any order halting the Mahadayi project in Karnataka," he added.

Patil said that on December 29, 2022, the Central Water Commission approved the revised Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of the Kalasa and Banduri projects.

On April 19, 2023, the Supreme Court dismissed an interim application filed in the original suit by Goa and rejected its plea to stay the Kalasa project.

"Despite there being no legal hindrance from the judiciary, creating unnecessary obstacles to Karnataka's just, legally valid, and constitutionally protected projects is a violation of the federal system," Patil said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)