Karnataka dragged into fresh border dispute with Goa

A fresh border row has erupted in coastal Karnataka with Konkani-speaking organizations moving the Supreme Court seeking the merger of three taluks of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka with neighbouring Goa.

The Goa Konkani Rajya Samithi and Samyuktha Gomantak Manch have submitted a petition before the Apex court seeking the merger of Karwar, Supa and Haliyal taluks in Uttara Kannada district with Goa on the grounds that a “majority” of people in these three taluks speak Konkani, the official language of Goa.

The two Konkani-organizations of Uttara Kannada have also sought the creation of “Greater Goa” with the inclusion of three taluks from Karnataka. The petition is expected to come up for hearing in the Supreme Court during the second week of July.

Karnataka Government is preparing to urge the Apex Court to reject the petition submitted by the two Konkani organizations on the grounds that they did not have any “locus standi” on the issue.

Chairman of Karnataka State’s Advisory Committee on Border Disputes H B Datar told reporters that there was no merit in the Konkani organization’s claim. He was confident that the petition, seeking merger of three taluks of Uttara Kannada including its district headquarters of Karwar would not stand the test of law.

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said he would be able to make a comment on the issue only after securing detailed information on the matter.

Though Goa has not officially staked claim over parts of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka, the demand for merger of three taluks of the district with Goa have added to the border woes of Karnataka, which is already involved in a row with Maharashtra over the ownership of Marathi-speaking areas in the border district of Belgaum.

Karnataka is also engaged in a border dispute with Kerala over Kasargod and Tamil Nadu over Hogenakal islands.