BENGALURU: The state government on Saturday filed a modification petition in the Supreme Court and the Cauvery supervisory committee on the basis of Karnataka going through the times of distress. The state was represented by Advocate-General Madhusudhan R Naik and Chief Secretary Arvind Jadhav.
The Supreme Court had ordered Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water over 10 days.
Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs T B Jayachandra told reporters that the supervisory committee would hear the matter on Monday and they were hopeful of getting justice. The state will also seek an urgent hearing by the apex court of its petition on Sunday.
“According to the Tribunal’s order, Tamil Nadu gets 192 tmcft in a year with normal rainfall. In a year with excellent rainfall, 120 tmcft of water is discharged into the sea. That is why we want to construct reservoirs in Shivanasamudra and Mekedaatu areas for hydro electric purposes and re-use the water. Tamil Nadu must not object to this as they too plan to construct a reservoir near Hogenakkal,” he said.
He welcomed Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati’s offer to mediate between the two states over the Cauvery issue.
He added that one look at the history of the divisions over Cauvery waters for the last 200 years reflected that Karnataka had not been treated fairly. “We have constructed dams across the river to protect the interests of our farmers and not to facilitate the flow of water to Tamil Nadu. At present, it is possible only with the intervention of the Central government that this matter can be resolved,” Jayachandra said.