“Goa has no justified reason to oppose the Mahadayi river water projects. They are playing politics in the name of the river. The statement of the Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and others is nothing but political gimmicks,” Medium and Major Irrigation Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi said in Belagavi on Monday.
According to him, the Supreme Court and the water dispute tribunals had cleared the way for Karnataka to start work on the diversion of the tributaries and nalas of the Mahadayi.
“There is no need for the Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Goa to hold any meeting over the dispute. There is nothing to talk about it. We will start work soon. We should have started already, if not for the COVID-19 situation,” he said. The Minister lost his cool when asked to provide details of the approvals obtained by the State government from the agencies concerned.
“Why do you need them? Are you experts in irrigation technology or are you IAS officers? Why are you concerned about such details. They make sense to me and my officers and that is enough,” he said. He said that journalists and media houses were involved in creating a sensation around the Mahadayi river dispute. “You are here only to create problems for us, not cooperate with us. You should not do such mistakes,” he advised them.
