Mahadayi back to the forefront after Goa CM’s statement; farmers want action and not politics

The long-pending Mahadayi project is again in the news following the Goa Chief Minister’s statement in the Legislative Assembly about Union Minister for Forest and Environment Bhupendra Yadav’s “assurance” that the project will not be approved.

While the Karnataka government has already taken exception to this, farmers’ organisations fighting for the Kalasa-Banduri Nala Project (which is part of the Mahadayi project) are now up in arms against political parties, particularly the BJP, as the recent statement comes from its dispensation.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil have condemned the statement of Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and said that such development was not only an “injustice to the federal system” but also indicated the stepmotherly treatment meted out to Karnataka by the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.

BJP on the back foot

The development has put the BJP leaders from the State on the back foot, particularly Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi and others, including Arvind Bellad, who hitherto used to refer to the then AICC president Sonia Gandhi’s statement against the project during an election campaign.

Mr. Joshi has issued a statement saying that the Goa Chief Minister had made a “personal statement” and it had nothing to do with the Union government. Emphasising that it was not time for politicising the issue, Mr. Joshi has said that after his earlier meeting with Mr. Yadav on the Mahadayi issue, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had said that Mr. Yadav would not do politics over the issue and that he was pro-development. Other BJP leaders in the region, including Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Mr. Bellad, and former Minister Shankar Patil Munenakoppa too have taken a similar line.

However, farmers’ organisations, which have been fighting for the implementation of the long-pending project, have not taken the statement lightly and have condemned it in strong terms. At the same time, they have urged politicians on both sides of the divide not to use the issue for their politics.

‘Exert pressure together’

President of the Karnataka Raita Sene Shankrappa Ambali has said that instead of again indulging in the blame game, all the Members of Parliament from Karnataka should exert pressure on the Union government to get the required clearances as the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal had already given its verdict, and the DPR had also been approved. “What is now required is getting required clearances and the MPs should make concerted efforts in this regard,” he said.

Veeresh Sobaradmath Swami, who has been leading an indefinite agitation for the project at Naragund in Gadag district, not only termed Mr. Sawanth’s statement as “highly condemnable”, but also Mr. Joshi’s reaction to it as “highly irresponsible”. He said he would would be convening a farmers’ meeting at Naragund on July 31 to chalk out the course of action.

While the demand for the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project is over four decades old, an indefinite agitation was launched at Naragund on July 16, 2015, and amid various ups and downs, the stir has been continued by farmers who are insistent on getting the project implemented. Now their demand is that the Centre should give all clearances for the project to be executed to utilise the water allocated by the tribunal.