NEW DELHI, APRIL 30:The Supreme Court on Wednesday restrained the Karnataka Government from utilising or diverting water under Kalsasa Bhanduri Project, envisaged for meeting drinking water supplies of Hubli-Dharwad twin cities.

Since the project is being built across the Mahadayi/Mandovi (Mahadayi flows from Karnataka into Goa, where it is known as the Mandovi river) river, the Goa Government has approached the apex court seeking to restrain Karnataka from going ahead with the project as it apprehended “an irreparable loss of water”.

Being informed by senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan and advocate Subhashini, appearing for Goa, that the Union of India had expressed inability to settle the dispute through negotiations, the court asked the Union Government to file its written statements.

A bench presided by Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan — which also asked Maharashtra, another state to be affected by the construction of the project, to furnish its statement — said the issues had to be framed first for adjudicating the dispute.

After going through the much-awaited response filed by the Ministry of Water Resources, the bench posted the matter for further directions on July 18, when it would consider legal issues to be decided upon.

Acceding to Goa’s request, the bench asked the Karnataka Government not to actually utilise the water till the next date of hearing.

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