Goa all-party team to meet Javadekar over Kalasa-Banduri proj

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Thursday that an all-party delegation from the state will meet Union minister Prakash Javadekar in Delhi on November 4 to seek withdrawal of the consent granted to Karnataka for the Kalasa-Banduri project over Mahadayi river.

The project involves diverting water from Mahadayi river, the lifeline of Goa, into the Malaprabha river.

Union Minister for Ayush and North Goa MP Shripad Naik, Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Tendulkar, Goa's Minister for Water Resources Filip Neri Rodrigues along with the representatives of the Congress, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), Goa Forward Party (GFP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will be part of the delegation.

Advocate General Devidas Pangam, Chief Engineer Sandeep Nadkarni and members of Mhadei Bachao Abhiyan (MBA) Nirmala Sawant and Rajendra Kerkar will also be part of it.

Talking to PTI, the chief minister said the delegation will meet Javadekar, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate change (MOEF&CC), and demand immediate withdrawal of the consent granted to Kalasa-Banduri project.

According to Sawant, the delegation will stress the need for visit to the project site along with the representatives of the respective states to inspect the area and get first-hand information about Karnataka's acts "which are in violation of the court orders".

"The delegation will also demand that no request from Karnataka should be entertained till the matter is decided by the Supreme Court," he said.

Granting of approval by the Centre to the Kalasa- Banduri project triggered an outrage in Goa.