BENGALURU: A day after the Cauvery Water Management Authority was notified, Karnataka on Saturday hit out at the Centre for taking a unilateral decision without addressing its concerns. The state is now exploring legal options and will also again approach the Centre.“Our rights have been snatched,” Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy told reporters in Bengaluru on Saturday. Karnataka has not nominated its member and had appealed to the Centre not to go ahead with the setting up of the Authority till its concerns were addressed.
Kumaraswamy said Karnataka is not opposed to the Centre implementing Supreme Court’s directions, but had urged it to review certain provisions in the scheme. State’s concerns were brought to the Centre’s notice during the Chief Minister’s meetings with the Prime Minister and Union Water Resources Minister in New Delhi recently.
“I will write to the Centre and again meet the minister. We will also consult legal experts on the options before the state government,” he said.Since the last ten days, Karnataka has been releasing around 10,000 to 30,000 cusecs a day to Tamil Nadu depending on inflow into the reservoirs. The state has also been releasing around 2,900 cusecs water every day for irrigation in the Cauvery basin.
Asserting that the state is not willing to make any compromise, the CM said Karnataka has never violated law though people faced several problems, but that should not be treated as a weakness. In the evening, the CM consulted JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda on the future course of action.Terming some provisions in the scheme as unscientific, Karnataka had demanded that the scheme be discussed in both Houses of the Parliament before implementing it. Any scheme or redressal mechanism in inter-state water disputes should be brought before Parliament for discussion, the state contended.
The state had raised objections to the provision that empowers the Authority to evaluate water levels every 10 days and the state has to give reports of water released to Tamil Nadu as frequently. The Authority will also will decide what crops farmers should grow along the Cauvery basin in the state. The CM had questioned the rationale behind such a provision as questions need to be asked only on water sharing and not the choice of the crops.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar too echoed what the Chief Minister said. He said the Centre notified the Authority without addressing the concerns raised by the state government. Congress MPs from Karnataka will take up the issue with the Union Water Resources Department, said MP Druvanarayan.