Pramesh S Jain & Dr.Thomas (Special Correspondent)
*
All-party delegation to PM: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeks cooperation from all parties.
*Kaveri dispute:Hardship sharing policy is needed :CM Siddaramaiah.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that he would take an All-party delegation from the state to meet the Prime Minister to intervene resolve Mekedatu,Kaveri, Mahadayi,Krishna issues.He sought cooperation from all parties in this regard.
He was speaking in an all-party meeting on Cauvery, Makedatu and Mahadayi water disputes held at the Conference Hall,Vidhana Soudha here today.
We are always committed to protect the interest of the state.Due to lack of rain every five to six years,we face difficulty in releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.
A distress formula has not been arrived in this regard. The Chief Minister was confident that lawyers team will put up a competent arguement in the Supreme Court government will extend all support in this regard.
Mekedatu Project will benefit Tamilnadu
A decision on the distress formula has to be taken in the Cauvery Water Management Authority.Construction of Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir with a storage capacity of 67 TMC water will help to release water to them during crisis.CM opined that Tamilnadu is opposing this project for no reason.
*Competent Argument by Officers*
The Cauvery dispute is a legacy dispute.The Cauvery Water Management Authority was formed in 2018 after the Supreme Court gave the verdict.
Cauvery Water Regulation Committee has been established and held many meetings.The Cauvery Authority has held 22 meetings and the Regulation Committee has held 84 meetings.
The state has been facing difficult days after these committees are formed.There are many instances where the state had discussed the issues with the Cauvery water Regulation committee and Management authority and acted as per its decisions.
Officials representing state in the Cauvery water regulation Committee and Authority have voiced concerns about the difficulties and the ground realities in the state.
This year there was deficit in rain. Rainfall was deficient in June and August.So far 86.38 TMC of water has to be released.
But till the 20th,only 24 tmc water has been released. This shows that we have opposed and made a sincere effort to disclose the facts before the authorities.It was explained that crops has not been watered due to lack of rain and water is needed for drinking water too,the CM said.
It was because of the state’s argument that water to be released was reduced from 15,000 to 10,000 cusecs water.
We have also placed a request to re-examine this too. The Tamil Nadu officials walked out of the meeting with Cauvery Water Management Authority,where our officials were presenting their argument about the difficulty in releasing 15,000 cusecs of water.
Later they filed an appeal in the Supreme Court.This case will be heard on 25th and the lawyers will put a competent argument, he said.
No politics
From the beginning, all the political parties have spoken in one voice on Karnataka’s land,water,borders and languages.
No one has tried to politicize these issues, nor should they. We all have to protect the welfare of seven crore people of the state.
It is the responsibility of everybody to protect the welfare of the state,whether we belong to the ruling party or not,he said.
While speaking at the beginning of the meeting,Deputy Chief Minister DK.Shivakumar made it clear that there is no compromise in protecting the interest of the state in the matter of irrigation,the government’s legal battle will continue and he sought the cooperation of the leaders of all parties in this regard.
The water year 2023-24 is a difficult year due to failure of southwest monsoon in the Cauvery valley region of Karnataka and Kerala.
The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee has noted the lack of rainfall till June. Directions was given to release 15,000 cusecs on FC August 10.
The state strongly opposed the decision and reduced the water quantity to 10,000 cusecs.Disappointed Tamilnadu then filed a petition in the Supreme Court to release the water,which will be heard before a three-judge bench on Friday.
*Full Cooperation: All-Party Support*
Former Chief Ministers BS Yeddyurappa, D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Veerappa Moily, Jagadish Shettar, H.D. Kumaraswamy, Basavaraja Bommai, MP Sumalatha, Jaggesh, Dr. Hanumantaiah, Muniswamy, G.M. Siddeshwar, G.C. Chandrasekhar, MLA Darshan Puttannaiah and others expressed their support for the legal struggle of the state.
They extended their support to the government to protect the interests of farmers.It was also opined the distress formula needs to be further specified.
Mahadayi issue
A request has also been placed for the clearance of Forest and Environment Department and National Wildlife Board for Kalasa and Bandura project regarding Mahadayi water allocation.
But the Government of Goa has filed a case in the Supreme Court and request to pay more attention in this regard.
They opined that the team of advocates should argue effectively using their past experiences in the best interest of the state.
Former Chief Ministers Basavaraja Bommai, B.S. Yediyurappa, H.D. Kumaraswamy, Jagadeesha Shettar, D.V. Sadanand Gowda, Veerappa Moily, Minister H.K. Patila, Chaluvarayaswamy, Dr. G. Parameshwar, K.J. George, Krishna Byregowda, Special Representative of the Government of Karnataka in New Delhi T.B. Jayachandra, MLAs and MPs from all parties, Vandita Sharma, Chief Secretary to Govt.Additional Chief Secretary Water Resources Department Rakesh Singh, Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty, Senior Advocate Mohan Kataraki and other legal experts and senior officials attended the meeting.
