Following a meeting with Karnataka BJP leaders, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday said that Goa was ready to give “reasonable and justified” amount of the Mahadayi river water to the neighbouring state for its drinking needs.
Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa and other leaders met Parrikar in the presence of party president Amit Shah in Delhi over the Mahadayi river water sharing issue on Wednesday.
“However, the same needs to be discussed bilaterally as suggested by the Honourable Tribunal (Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal),” Parrikar said in the letter, copies of which were distributed at his press conference here.
Goa and Karnataka are locked in a two-decade-old dispute over the river as Karnataka is planning to build a dam on it.
The river originates in Karnataka before flowing into Goa where it is called Mandovi.
Yeddyurappa, the former Karnataka chief minister, had also written a letter to Parrikar yesterday over utilisation of 7.56 TMC water from the Mahadayi for drinking water needs of drought-prone north Karnataka.
“The government of Goa understands that access to the drinking water is a basic human need….on humanitarian ground, the Government of Goa is willing to consider the request to work out an amicable settlement strictly restricted to drinking water only to the drought-prone areas,” it said.
Talking to reporters, Parrikar said “how much water Karnataka would receive would be worked out through the talks”.
Earlier in the day, Vinod Palyecar, Goa water resources minister, who belongs to the Goa Forward Party, a BJP ally, said the stand of the coastal state remained unchanged.
We are committed to protect our mother #Mhadei & protect each drop of water,” Palyecar tweeted.