The Kalasa-Banduri Water Dispute Issue – KPSC / KAS

The Kalasa-Banduri water dispute is between the Governments of Karnataka and Goa. It is concerned with sharing of water from the Mahadayi River.

The Mahadayi River, also known as Mandovi River originates in Karnataka and has a length of 29 kilometers in Karnataka and 52 kilometers in Goa with a catchment area of 2032 km² and 1580 km² in Karnataka and Goa respectively.

Karnataka proposed to divert 7.6 tmc of water to Malaprabha from Mahadayi by implementing the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project. The Karnataka Governments’s Kalasa-Banduri Nala project involved building barrages across Kalasa and Banduri, two tributaries of the Mahadayi river to divert water to the Malaprabha river in order to supply drinking water to Hubli, Dharwad, Begaum and Gadag.  The dispute aggravated after the Kalasa-Bandura Nala project was proposed.

Overview:

In 1980, an agitation was launched by the farmers of Navalgund town of Dharwad district and Nargund taluk of Gadag district in northern Karnataka against shortage of water supply.

The then chief minister R Gundu Rao appointed “The Bommai Committee” recommending linking of Mahadayi to Malaprabha. However, there was no further progress in this regard until S R Bommai became the chief minister in 1989.

An agreement was signed between the Goa and the Karnataka Government for construction of a dam near Kalasa and to provide 45 tmc of water from Kalasa to Karnataka and also to set up a power generation unit. Goa could also use the power as per the pact. However, the fall of the Bommai Government stalled this agreement and the subsequent Government raised objections to this proposal.

The matter was then referred to National Environment Engineering Institute (NEEI) which gave a green signal to the project. Karnataka again started pursuing the project while the Goa government kept on opposing it.

H K Patil, water resources minister in S M Krishna cabinet, took up the issue and renamed the project as Kalasa-Banduri Nala project which proposed diversion of 9 tmc of water from Mahadayi to Malaprabha to solve the drinking water problem.

The Central water commission and NDA Government at the centre gave the approval but the Central government had to place it on hold after objections were raised by the government of Goa. Karnataka Government was asked to obtain permission from the Department of Forest and Environment.

Again, in 2002, the Karnataka Government requested clearance of proposal to divert 7.56 tmc of water from Mahadayi to Malaprabha by implementing the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project. The Centre at first had issued clearance to this project in 2002 but later put that on hold after objections were raised by the Government of Goa claiming that this project would harm its flora and fauna.

The project was revived by then Chief Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy in 2006 after it was placed on hold for about four years. The construction work had begun but had to be put on hold after a stay order was issued by the court on the request of the Government of Goa.

In 2009, on the approval of the Union Cabinet, the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal was setup under the Inter-State Water Disputes Act 1956 to resolve the Mahadayi river water dispute. The Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal rejected the Goa government’s plea to stop work on the Kalasa-Banduri Project. However, last year, as an interim, it directed the Government of Karnataka to block canals at Kalasa with a concrete structure to stop Mahadayi water diversion till its final order

The tribunal is expected to give its final verdict by the end of 2015.