Daijiworld Media Network - Belagavi (MS)
Belagavi, May 6: Karnataka and Maharashtra are going to barter water. Both the states will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard in the coming days. The chief secretary of Karnataka will send a letter to the government of Maharashtra in this regard.
A meeting in this regard was held by D K Shivakumar, minister for water resources, with the elected representatives and officials from the districts of Bagalkot, Vijayapur and Belagavi here on Monday, May 6.
Giving the details of the meeting to the scribes, Shivakumar said, "The concerned representatives from all the three districts have given their valuable suggestions and inputs in resolving the water issue in parched regions during summer along the coast of river Krishna. A permanent solution is required for the drinking water crisis every year and have agreed in principle to the proposal of MoU mooted by the state of Maharashtra.
"In the meeting we have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of this proposal. The technical committee will submit a report within a month as the water of our state is already allocated to various schemes. The requirement of our state farmers is also taken into consideration. The government of Maharashtra has agreed to exchange water. We used to pay the government of Maharashtra for the water but now they have made this new condition of exchanging water rather than paying them for the water we receive. The chief secretary of our state will write to the government of Maharashtra in this regard today itself and in all probability, the MoU in this respect will be signed once the code of conduct that was imposed for Lok Sabha elections will be relaxed.
"I had discussion in this regard with the chief minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis at a summit at Aurangabad. Union minister Nitin Gadkari was also present during the discussion. A delegation from our state, led by member of Rajya Sabha Prabhakar Kore met the Maharashtra CM and I too spoke to Devendra Fadnavis over the phone. According to the discussion, Maharashtra is seeking two TMC water each during the Kharip and Rabbi crop season."
The minister did not reveal the schemes from which the government of Maharashtra has sought water from the state. He just said that both Maharashtra and Karnataka want to reach out to one another and all possible steps will be taken to ensure a positive outcome.
When questioned by scribes on the matter of Mahadayi project report not being ready despite the verdict given by the Mahadayi River Dispute Tribunal, the minister said that the state government is awaiting the notification from the center in this regard and the process will be set in motion immediately on receipt of the notification.