Bengaluru: The project to provide drinking water to 11 major cities, including Hubballi-Dharawad, has faced another hurdle. Now, the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court has issued a directive that the Mahadayi Project will be hampered. The Mahadayi Wildlife Sanctuary, which comes under Goa has been given three months to declare it as a Tiger Reserve Forest. The Kalasa-Bandur Nala Diversion Project is likely to be stalled if it is declared a tiger reserve as per the court’s direction.
Some parts of the Western Ghats in Karnataka come under the Mahadayi Wildlife Sanctuary. The Kalasa-Bandur Nala Diversion Project is underway in the same area. If declared a tiger reserve, the project is likely to be hampered.
Goa has been bringing the Kalasa-Bandur Nala Project from the very beginning. The project is yet to get clearance from the Union Environment Ministry.
The Kalasa Banduri Nala Project aims to divert water from Mahadayi to meet the drinking water requirement of Belagavi, Dharawad, Bagalakote and Gadag Districts.
The project was first proposed in the early 1980s but has remained unimplemented due to a dispute between Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra.
As per the plans, dams should be constructed against Kalasa and Banduri streams, tributaries of Mahadayi, and the aim is to divert water towards the barren districts of Karnataka to alleviate the water scarcity in those districts.
Mahadayi originates in Bhimagada Wildlife Sanctuary in Belagavi District of Karnataka and flows into the Arabian Sea in Goa.