Panaji: The three documents which could have turned the Mhadei case in favour of Goa but were never placed before the Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal were placed before Supreme Court by state govt to show yields in the Mhadei basin in the range of 108 to 131 TMC, as compared to the tribunal’s assessment of 188.1TMC.The three reports include the Central Water Commission (CWC) reports of 1993 and 2019, World Bank documents, and the document titled Assessment of Water Resources of India, Aug 2024, prepared by the CWC.
“All these assessments in the reports consistently show yields in the range of 108 to 131 TMC, as compared to the tribunal’s assessment of 188.1 TMC. This represents an overestimation by approximately 57 to 80 TMC, or approximately 30% to 43%, by the tribunal. The Inglis Formula of 1946, which was relied upon by the rribunal, was abandoned by the CWC since 1993,” a senior govt officer said.The CWC report of 1993 assessed the yield of the Mhadei Basin at 109.8 TMC at 75% dependability and was available since 1993. The CWC 2019 report assessed the yield at 131.3 TMC at 75% dependability, and its draft was available as early as 2017, before the tribunal’s award.The World Bank documents, which are now sought to be placed on record through interlocutory applications (IA), were also available in the public domain prior to the award dated Aug 14, 2018, a senior govt officer, said.“The World Bank reports titled Environmental and Social Assessment (ESA) report of the years 2014, 2019 and 2020-21 were submitted by Karnataka to the World Bank to obtain financial support to develop infrastructure in the Malaprabha basin to provide water supply to the Hubballi-Dharwad twin cities,” a senior govt officer said adding, “These reports contain statements by Karnataka that the water sources available in the Malaprabha basin are sufficient to meet the drinking water needs of the region, thus negating their case of needing diversion of waters from the Mhadei basin.”“None of these documents were produced before the tribunal,” a senior govt officer said.A senior govt officer said that the non-production of these CWC reports and World Bank documents before the tribunal is of critical significance. “The tribunal rejected the rainfall and run-off data provided by the three party states as unreliable. In the absence of reliable data, the tribunal relied on the Inglis Formula of 1946 to calculate the run-off and assess the yield at 188.1 TMC at 75% dependability.”A senior govt officer said that if the CWC reports of 1993 and 2019 and the World Bank documents were produced, the tribunal would have access to reliable scientific data.Against the tribunal’s Aug 14, 2018, award, state govt filed a civil appeal before Supreme Court challenging the tribunal’s award. Special leave was granted by Supreme Court in Aug 2024.
