Chief Minister Pramod Sawant clarified on Saturday that the research paper by the CSIR–National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) will not affect the state’s case currently before the Supreme Court.
Talking to reporters in Ponda, Sawant said that the state government had not asked the CSIR-NIO to conduct any such research on Mhadei river.
“If they have done it, they have done it on their own. Government has nothing to do with it,” he said, adding that such a report will not impact Goa’s case before the Supreme Court.
Goa has moved to the Apex court against Water Dispute Tribunal’s verdict on sharing Mhadei river water with Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Members of the Mhadei Movement and several citizens on March 15 demonstrated outside the NIO complex near Dona Paula, demanding an explanation from the leading institute about the study conducted by its three hydrologists.
The report, published in the Journal of Earth System Sciences, said that Karnataka’s plans to divert Mhadei water, as approved by the Water Dispute Tribunal, would have less impact on Goa and can be addressed through mitigation measures.
