Goa minister on slippery ground in water-sharing case with Karnataka

Goa's Water Resources Minister, Vinod Palyekar, has been left red-faced after he made a policy blunder on the interstate river dispute between Goa and Karnataka.

Palyekar, a Goa Forward leader, practically dumped an Assembly resolution of there being no out-of-court settlement on the Mhadei water dispute policy, informing the media that he has initiated an out-of-court settlement in the case.

Fighting for over a decade against the big states of Karnataka and Maharashtra, the Goa government is hoping for a favourable decision in the tribunal.

Speaking to correspondents, Palyekar said that he had earlier appealed to Karnataka's WRD Minister, MB Patil, to come forward for an out-of-court settlement, which will benefit all the three states equally.

Palyekar's statement spread like a wildfire, inviting angry reactions. He called another press briefing within two hours and made a complete U-turn.

"There will be no compromise or out-of-court settlement in the Mhadei case with Karnataka. This is the official stand of my department," he said, retracting his earlier proposal.

"Karnataka, on one hand, is asking for an out-of-court settlement and on the other hand they are playing from behind. Their witnesses have been well-exposed in the tribunal at New Delhi and our legal team, led by ASG Atmaram Nadkarni, is doing a wonderful job," he said.

On Wednesday, Karnataka Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah wrote a letter to Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar requesting him to initiate a tri-party meeting on the issue. Parrikar is yet to respond to this letter.