Manohar Parrikar

Panaji : The Goa government has withdrawn the contempt petition filed before the Mhadei River Water Disputes Tribunal, following an assurance by Karnataka government, that it would not carry out any construction work to divert water till the dispute is resolved, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Tuesday.

“Based on the assurance, our lawyer informed the Tribunal, that we would not like to press the contempt petition,” he said.

Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra are currently involved in a dispute in the tribunal over controversial Kalsa-Bhandura dam project across Mhadei river, through which Karnataka aims to divert water from the Mhadeibasin to nearby basin on the Malaprabha river.

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

The river course is 28.8 km in Karnataka, and over 50 km in Goa.

Last month, Goa government had filed a contempt petition against Karnataka, after the latter latter allegedly carried out construction work to divert water from the Mhadei basin.

—IANS