Panaji, Jul 17 (IANS): Accusing Karnataka of drawing more water than it was allotted by the Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal in its award in 2018, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday told the state legislative assembly that his government would soon file a special leave petition before the Supreme Court in this regard.

"We are filing an SLP on Friday. We are not going to be quiet. They have diverted more water than what was allotted to them by the Mhadei Water Dispute Tribunal. Mhadei is close to my heart. I have been following it up even at the time I was MLA," Sawant told the state assembly on Wednesday during the ongoing monsoon session.

Mhadei is also known as the Mandovi river and is the lifeline of the northern parts of the State. It originates in Karnataka and meets the Arabian Sea in Panaji in Goa, while briefly flowing through the territory of Maharashtra.

On August 14, the Tribunal which was hearing a dispute between Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra, for nearly two decades over sharing of water from the Mhadei river, in its award had allotted 13.42 TMC (including 3.9 TMC for diversion into the depleted Malaprabha river basin) from the Mhadei river basin to Karnataka. Maharashtra has been allotted 1.33 TMC.