Mhadei is the only source of potable water to six talukas of Goa, with nearly 43% of Goa’s population getting their thirst quenched by the river
The water of river Mhadei is boiling again in the cauldron of interstate dispute and the political steam is profuse and loaded. The approval of Karnataka’s revised DPR by the central government and Goa’s inability to pre-empt this ambuscade has given weaponry to the otherwise scattered and dissipated opposition against the government in the state. The politically subdued vocal chords in the state have started resonating again and the dormant spores of activism have begun to germinate. Dear grand old Mhadei, our provider of ‘elixir of life’ is making headlines after a hiatus.
The exuberance and ecstasy over the iconic ‘New Zuari bridge’ should have lasted a little longer every Niz Goemkar thought, but Karnataka’s Water Resource Minister Govind Karjol interrupted the celebrations; driving our photo-eager people’s representatives away from the Zuari towards Mhadei at Kankumbi. Karjol has offered to change his name if the Kalasa Bhandura project does not happen within a year; his nomenclatural cravings not shocking anyone here, as our newspapers abound with such ‘change of name’ advertisements issued regularly by many aspiring to be called ‘Naiks and D’Souzas’.
The ruling dispensation is attempting to douse the embers of unrest by arguing that DPR approval does not become a nod for the proposed diversion of river waters. Asserting his filial obligation towards the river, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has sought revocation of the approval to revised DPR by the Centre, as also cautioned that the mandatory clearance for diversion of water under Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 should not be given, as the project site is just within 237 metres of the Mhadei Wildlife sanctuary of Goa. Well for now the ball shall rest in the court of PMO, while Goa mulls over its diplomatic and legal recourse.
Given the 2023 Karnataka assembly elections and the 2024 General elections where that state has 28 Lok Sabha seats against just two from Amchem Goem, the apprehension is that the engines (triple in this case) do not independently change tracks and cause derailment of tail-end bogies.
Of course in a ‘concert of political rhetoric’ decibel levels count, and chorus lends legitimacy to the song! Currently, the lyrics of ‘save our rivers’ seem to be a popular chart buster across Goa, whose constituents otherwise are enduringly anchored in romance of the Arabian Sea. Good that the rivers can unite the otherwise complacent citizenry of this maritime State, whose coasts rarely speak with its plateaus and the Ghats!
As such in the last couple of months in Goa, the elected representatives who could not occupy the treasury benches seem to have suddenly found their ammunition in our rivers starting with river Sal, the ‘life-line of Salcete’. The vociferous ‘Captain’ from Saxtti churned out angst and anger, more copious than the thick sewage that entered Sal from the malfunctioning Shirvodem STP. The angry Benaulim MLA had to be placated by none other than the CM himself, with a promise of grievance redressal.
That the Sal is more of a sewer than a river is no secret, and not finding the Environment Minister losing his composure despite the on camera humiliation, the AAP MLA pulled out the second arrow from his quiver by inviting Delhi Jal Board consultant who offered to rejuvenate the Sal based on Delhi model.
On a personal note, I have made an elfin contribution towards remediating river Sal two decades ago. This was when one fine morning the tall, polite and erudite septuagenarian Tony Correia- Afonso from Benaulim walked into the then just established Biodiversity Research Cell of my college. For next couple of hours, the gentleman lamented over the polluted state of river Sal and requested me to formulate a participatory action plan to rejuvenate the water body that he endeared so intensely. I willingly obliged this eager Banaulkar by writing a proposal to ameliorate the defiled river and submitted it to the Benaulim Environment Trust, then functioning from Correia-Afonso’s home. However, the gentleman’s passion and urgency apparently did not find support and the plan was shelved.
As for the river Mhadei, right from the beginning of this resistance to its diversion; we’ve partnered with environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar and his volunteer brigade to sensitize south Goa on perils of such draconian proposal by hosting a three-day awareness programme on ‘Know your Mhadei’ at Carmel College in Nuvem. Then and to some extent even now, Mhadei is erroneously seen by people in south Goa as an impending catastrophe that concerns only people in the north. This is a fallacy that must be addressed; since Mhadei is the only source of potable water to six talukas of Goa, with nearly 43% of Goa’s population getting their thirst quenched by the river.
Considering Goa’s eco-geographic disposition, the trans-boundary impact of water diversion on wilderness of the Mhadei basin is inevitable; and given the altered hydrochemistry, Goa’s estuaries will no longer host critical biodiversity, much of which is of food, livelihood and ecological values.
Thus far the dispute resolution in case of Mhadei has been a lengthy and layered process moving from mediation to adjudication, clearly divisive and eroding the spirit of reconciliation between the two states. After all cooperation supersedes competition, in conflict resolution!
Even at this stage the potential of political negotiation and mediation cannot be underestimated. The issue of Mhadei is not just that of sharing waters but there is a clear political tone, and therefore a total depoliticisation may not yield results. Also, for viable solution our approach could now change from ‘technocratic to democratic’, where we create a collective narrative through other stakeholders like media, academia, activists and civil society.
