Karnataka to file review petition

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said that a review petition would be filed before the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and the Supreme Court (SC) on Saturday, explaining scarcity of water in the state and the inability to release the same to Tamil Nadu.

He made the comments in a press conference at his Home Office Krishna on Friday after holding a meeting with the retired Supreme Court judges and former Advocate Generals of the state.

“Retired Supreme Court Judges and former Advocate Generals participated in the meeting. They have given some opinions and suggestions based on their experience. Further decisions will be taken considering their suggestions,” Siddaramaiah said.

“It was suggested to form an expert advisory committee to the government exclusively regarding the irrigation projects of the state. Data collection and advisory work should be done by the committee. The committee should advise the government and provide information to the legal team about inter-state water disputes,” he added.

Regarding release of 3,000 cusecs (Cubic Feet Per Second) of water to Tamil Nadu, it was argued before both the committees that we cannot release water as Karnataka does not have enough to do the same.

Fresh push for Mekedatu Siddarmaiah said that the state will intensify its demand for the Mekedatu multi-purpose project in the Supreme Court, adding that Tamil Nadu would also have no problem if it is built.

“Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir will have a storage capacity of 67 TMCFT (Thousand Million Cubic Feet). It will be used for electricity and drinking water. It has been advised that water can be released to Tamil Nadu whenever there is a problem,” he added Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Home Minister G Parameshwara, Law Minister HK Patil, Agriculture Minister Cheluvaraya Swamy, Chief Minister's Political Secretaries Govindaraju and Naseer Ahmed, Legal Advisor Ponnanna and others participated in the meeting.