Context: The Govt of India recently approved Karnataka’s Kalasa-Banduri drinking water project which is facing opposition from Goa and Maharashtra.
The Central Water Commission (CWC) has cleared the diversion of 1.72 TMC of water from the Kalasa Dam and 2.18 TMC from the Bhandura dam.
About Kalasa – Banduri Project:
It is a dam that has been designed to divert water from the Mahadeo basin to the deficit basin of the Mala-Prabha river.
The plan is aimed at facilitating drinking water for 13 towns in drought-hit northern Karnataka.
The areas include Dharwad, Belagavi, Bagalkot and Gadag among others.
These areas together make up the country’s second most arid region after Rajasthan.
About Mahadayi River:
The Mahadayi river rises in Karnataka (Western Ghats) from the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Khanapur taluk of Karnataka’s Belagavi district.
Flowing westward, it enters the north Goa districts.
Several streams join the flow of the river to form the Mandovi which is one of two major rivers that flow through Goa.
It joins the Arabian Sea at Panaji.
Distribution: Of the total area, 375 sq km lies in Karnataka, 77 sq km in Maharashtra and remaining 1580 sq km is in Goa.
About Central Water Commission (CWC):
Central Water Commission is a premier Technical Organization of India in the field of Water Resources and is presently functioning as an attached office of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India.
The Commission is entrusted with the general responsibilities of initiating, coordinating and furthering in consultation of the State Governments concerned, schemes for control, conservation and utilization of water resources throughout the country, for purpose of Flood Control, Irrigation, Navigation, Drinking Water Supply and Water Power Development.
It also undertakes the investigations, construction and execution of any such schemes as required.
Central Water Commission CWC is headed by a Chairman, with the status of Ex-Officio Secretary to the Government of India.
The work of the Commission is divided among 3 wings namely, Designs and Research (D&R) Wing, River Management (RM) Wing and Water Planning and Projects (WP&P) Wing.
A separate Human Resources Management Unit headed by a Chief Engineer, deals with Human Resources Management or Development, Financial Management, Training and Administrative matters of the CWC.
National Water Academy located at Pune is responsible for training of Central and State in-service engineers and it functions directly under the guidance of Chairman.
Altogether there are Nineteen organizations located at headquarters in New Delhi and thirteen organizations spread over various locations in India.
