Government officials urged to discard Godavari Study Group report

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

A recommendation to reduce by 7 per cent the water released from dams in Ahilyanagar and Nashik districts to Marathwada has been made in the report of the Godavari Study Group (GSG). In response, the Marathwada Hak Bachao Samiti (MHBS) submitted a demand on Tuesday to the District Collector and the Executive Director of the Godavari Marathwada Irrigation Development Corporation (GMIDC), urging that this recommendation not be accepted. During this meeting, the committee also submitted around 1,000 written objections from farmers in the district against the GSG report.

The GSG has recommended that the government reduce by 7 pc the water allocated to Marathwada from the dams in Ahilyanagar and Nashik districts. The government has forwarded this report to the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA) for further action. The authority had invited objections and suggestions on the report up to April 15. Around 4,000 objections had been submitted till yesterday.

On Tuesday, a delegation from the MHBS, led by Prof. Chandrakant Bharaat, met with District Collector Deelip Swami and the Executive Director of the GMIDC, Santosh Tirmanwar.

During the meeting, they submitted 1,000 written objections from farmers, demanding that the one-sided report recommending water cuts not be accepted. They urged that the report be scrapped, equitable water distribution continue as per Marathwada's rightful share, and that legal and judicial principles be respected.

Others present on the occasion included Vijay Kakade, Amit Patil, Sudhakar Shinde, and Akash Joshi.