Mahadayi tribunal gets 6-month extension to resolve Maha, Goa, K’taka water sharing dispute

NEW DELHI: The

Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal

, constituted in Nov 2010 for adjudicating the dispute over river water sharing among Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka, has got another extension of six months with effect from Feb 16 as it has failed to resolve the issue, despite being in operation for more than 14 years.
The Mahadayi Tribunal is one of the five active tribunals in the country that continues to get extensions year after year, with the oldest being the Ravi & Beas Tribunal, which was constituted to adjudicate water-sharing disputes among Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan nearly 39 years ago.
Though the tribunal requested the central govt to extend the period of submission of its final report for a period of one year, the Jal Shakti (water resources) ministry on Tuesday extended the period for six months.
The Mahadayi tribunal had submitted its earlier report and decision in Aug 2018 but all the three states — Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka — made objections seeking revised reports which would address their respective concerns.

Besides the oldest Ravi & Beas Tribunal and the Mahadayi Tribunal, the three others in the list of active five include

Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal

, the second oldest, which was constituted in April 2004 for adjudicating water sharing disputes among Maharashtra, Karnataka and erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.
The remaining two are the Vansadhara Water Disputes Tribunal for Odisha and Andhra Pradesh (constituted in Feb 2010), and the Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal for adjudicating water sharing disputes between Odisha and Chhattisgarh (constituted in March 2018).