A specially designated court in India on Tuesday resolved a 50-year-old water dispute among three southern states of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra, officials said.

The Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal, which was set by the federal government to hear tussle among the states and allocate water among them, delivered its final verdict on Tuesday allowing 134,000 million cubic (TMC) feet of water to Karnataka, 24 TMC feet of water to Goa and 1.33 TMC feet of water to Maharashtra.

"The tribunal has allowed Karnataka to access to 13.4 TMC feet of water, 5.4 TMC feet for its consumptive use and 8.02 TMC feet for its power generation," an official said.

"The share of Goa was pegged at 24 TMC feet for its municipal water needs, irrigation water requirements and industrial water demands. Maharashtra got the lowest share of 1.33 TMC feet for meeting its in-basin needs with respect to five projects."

The tribunal, headed by Justice J. M. Panchal, has recommended that a board, called the Mahadayi Water Management Authority, be constituted to ensure the river's water is equitably used by Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra, officials said.

The dispute over sharing of water from Mahadayi or Mandovi river that flows through Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra has escalated in the recent years. The Mahadayi river basin drains an area of 2,032 square km, of which 375 square km lies in Karnataka, 77 square km in Maharashtra and the remaining 1,580 square km in Goa.

Karnataka and Goa, situated on the banks of Mandovi river (which originates in Karnataka's Belgaum district), had been at loggerheads with each other over its water sharing for some 50 years. Since 2001, Karnataka has been asking Goa to release 7.6 TMC feet of the river water to meet the drinking and irrigation needs of its people in four drought-prone districts.

Goa feared the project will cause deficit of water and raised concerns over the potential ecological disaster that would be likely created if the tributaries are diverted. However, Karnataka claimed the river is water-surplus.

To resolve the dispute the federal government constituted the tribunal in November 2010.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has welcomed the verdict and described it justice to Goa.

"I am happy that the Mahadayi Tribunal with its final verdict has done justice to Goa," Parrikar said in a statement.

The government of Karnataka said it would read complete recommendations before commenting on the verdict.

"Chief Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy said that he will respond to the final award of Mahadayi Water disputes which submitted its recommendations to the Union (federal) Government today after studying the 12 volumes of the final award recommendation Tribunal and consulting with all concerned," a local government spokesman said.