Cauvery row: CM Siddu to take all-party delegation to Delhi

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that his all-party meeting on Cauvery river water sharing had been encouraging, adding that he would take an all-party delegation from the state to meet the PM Narendra Modi in this regard.

He added that he would demand intervention and resolution of not just Cauvery water sharing but also issues pertaining Mekedatu, Mahadayi, Krishna issues.

“There is the Cauvery issue but there are others too, like the Mekedatu project, Mahadayi and the Upper Krishna Project on which there has been no gazette notification yet. We have decided to take an all-party delegation to Delhi. We extended this proposal and have sought co-operation from all parties,” Siddaramaiah said, adding that he would try to make the PM understand the “ground reality”.

He made the comments at a press conference held at the Conference Hall in the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.

Distress formula needed: CM

The CM said that the absence of a distress formula in cases of deficit rainfall was worrisome for Karnataka.

“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 at in this regard,” Siddaramaiah said.

The Cauvery Water Management Authority was formed in 2018 on the directions of the SC. Cauvery Water Regulation Committee was also set up. CWMA has held 22 meetings and the CWRC has held 84 meetings.

Siddaramaiah added that oftentimes the state faced difficulty in implementing decisions of these bodies.

“Officials representing the state in both bodies have voiced concerns about the difficulties and the ground realities in the state. This year there was deficit rainfall. Rainfall was deficient in June and August. So far, 86.38 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) 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 have not been watered due to lack of rain and water is needed for drinking water too,” he said.

“It was because of the state’s argument that water to be released was reduced from 15,000 to 10,000 cusecs of water. We have also placed a request to re-examine this too.

The Tamil Nadu officials walked out of the meeting with CWMA, 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 the 25th and the lawyers will put a competent argument,” he said.

No compromise on state interest: Shivakumar

Deputy CM DK Shivakumar also made it clear that there would be no compromise in protecting the interest of the state in the matter of irrigation, adding that the government’s legal battle will continue and he sought the cooperation of the leaders of all parties in this regard.

Leaders from the Opposition JD(S), BJP, including former CMS like Basavaraja Bommai, BS Yediyurappa and HD Kumaraswamy, apart from various Cabinet ministers and Special Representative of the Government of Karnataka in New Delhi TB Jayachandra, Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma and others attended the meeting.

‘Will fight for Kalasa-Banduri’

Siddaramaiah said that the state government would fight for the Kalasa-Banduri project in the SC.

“A request has also been placed for the clearance of the Forest and Environment Department and National Wildlife Board for Kalasa and Bandura project regarding Mahadayi water allocation. But Goa has filed a case in the Supreme Court and request to pay more attention in this regard,” he said.

The team of advocates should argue effectively in the interest of the state, the CM added. The Kalasa-Banduri Nala, otherwise known as the Mahadayi drinking water project is the longstanding plan to improve potable water supply to northern Karnataka districts of Belagavi, Bagalkot, Dharwad and Gadag districts.

The plan was to build a ‘nala’ across Kalasa and Banduri, two tributaries of the Mahadayi River and divert the water to the Malaprabha River, which meets the drinking water needs of the aforementioned districts.

It has been impeded by legal hurdles ever since the erstwhile SM Krishna’s Cong govt tried to expedite it.

Mekedatu will benefit TN: Siddu

The CM also tried to assuage the fear of Karnataka’s southern neighbour TN that damming rivers upstream would deprive them of water, adding that the Mekedatu drinking