New Delhi [India], July 30 (ANI): The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), which met in New Delhi on Thursday, upheld the recommendation of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) directing Karnataka to release 3,500 cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu, with a total release of 4 TMC over a 15-day period.
Officials from Karnataka said an all-party meeting will be convened under Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar after he returns from New Delhi to decide the state’s next course of action.
“The next legal battle and the options available to us will also be decided in the meeting with the Chief Minister,” the officials said.
The CWRC had on July 28 directed Karnataka to begin releasing water to Tamil Nadu with effect from July 29. Karnataka subsequently appealed the CWRC’s order before the CWMA.
Meanwhile, a delegation of BJP MPs, led by Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and former Karnataka Chief Minister and MP Basavaraj Bommai, met Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil in New Delhi, urging the Centre not to pressure Karnataka into implementing the CWRC’s water release order.
MPs Jagadish Shettar, Govind Karjol, Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, P.C. Mohan, and P.C. Gaddigoudar also attended the meeting.
The MPs also thanked the Central government for what they described as its decision in Karnataka’s favor, stating that “there is no scope for objections” from other states regarding the construction of the proposed Mekedatu dam by the Karnataka government.
The CWMA’s decision has also sparked anger among farmer groups in Karnataka’s drought-affected Cauvery basin.
Farmers’ association leader Kurubur Shanthakumar rejected the CWRC’s directive, saying, “The state government should not go by that verdict under any circumstances. That verdict must be defied, and an appeal should be filed in the Supreme Court.”
He said farmers in the region were facing severe hardship because of prolonged dry conditions.
“The reason is that, in our region, there has been no rain for the last two months. Farmers are suffering due to drought. Sugarcane and banana crops that the farmers have grown have dried up. Farmers are in distress. If we release water now, we will not be able to get it back,” he said.
He added, “There is a situation where we may face a drinking water crisis. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board has already announced that people should use water judiciously and has declared a reduction in water release. Considering all these issues, we do not accept what the state government has done.”
Shanthakumar said farmers in the Haveri command area had warned they would take to the streets in protest.
The dispute comes amid renewed political exchanges between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the proposed Mekedatu balancing reservoir across the Cauvery River. Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has maintained that the project is within the state’s rights and argued that it would also benefit Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 28, urging the Centre to safeguard the interests of the lower riparian states and ensure that any decision on the project is consistent with the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) award and the Supreme Court’s judgment on the Cauvery water dispute.
In his letter, Vijay referred to a written reply by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti in the Rajya Sabha to an unstarred question on the Mekedatu project. The reply stated that the Supreme Court’s Feb. 16, 2018, judgment does not expressly require Karnataka to obtain the consent of the lower riparian states before constructing a structure across the Cauvery River.
Separately, DMK President and former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced that a major protest will be held in Thanjavur on Aug. 3 under the leadership of Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin. He alleged that the ruling TVK government had failed farmers on issues including the farm loan waiver, the Mekedatu dam project, and the delayed opening of the Mettur Dam. (ANI)
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