MYSURU: Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday called upon Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to lead a delegation of ministers and experts to Tamil Nadu, and convince his counterpart MK Stalin to agree to the construction of a balancing water reservoir at Mekedatu.
“A few days ago, former PM H D Deve Gowda and I met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and held discussions on the Cauvery water sharing dispute and justice for Karnataka. The Jal Shakti Ministry had also agreed to hold a meeting in a few days to take a decision to resolve the issue,” he told reporters on Sunday.
“However, the Congress government had accused me of not attending the all-party meeting to discuss the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) directive to Karnataka to release one tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu till July-end. But prior to the meeting, the government had already taken the decision to release 8,000 cusecs of water. So there was no need for the meeting", he said.
He said Deve Gowda will raise the issue in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. “I will attend as I represent Mandya constituency. We are expecting MPs from Tamil Nadu to oppose the issue,” he said.
“Siddaramaiah must discuss the large amount of water that is reaching the sea without being utilised for irrigation and drinking purposes. There should be a technical discussion. Congress leaders must realise that due to the efforts of Deve Gowda, the CWRC had awarded 14 tmcft more to Karnataka. The Congress government must hold discussions with Tamil Nadu to take up the construction of the Mekedatu project.”