BENGALURU: The state government will file objections with the Jal Shakti Ministry, asking it not to go ahead with the river-linking project till Karnataka’s share is determined. They have also decided to oppose Tamil Nadu’s Cauvery-Vaugai-Gundar river-linking and Hogenakkal projects in the court.
After meeting legal experts handling inter-state water disputes, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai told the media in New Delhi on Tuesday that the state government has decided to file objections given the announcement in the union budget, though they had registered their reservations earlier too.
“We will file objections with the Jal Shakti Ministry asking it not go ahead with the river-linking projects till our share is determined,” Bommai said. The CM had also taken it up during his meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday. “I have made it clear that all states should agree and only then can it be taken up,” he said and added that the government will not compromise on the state’s interest in the project.
K’taka to seek early hearing of Mahadayi case
The CM said they have decided to oppose Tamil Nadu’s Hogenakkal project and interlinking of Cauvery-Vaugai- Gundar in the court. Bommai said that during the meeting with the legal experts, they also discussed gazette notification of the Krishna Tribunal II order.
They have moved an application before the registrar general, requesting the Chief Justice of India to name judges for the bench hearing the case as two judges had recused themselves during the last hearing. On the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir project, the state decided to take up its request with the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to approve the DPR for the Mekedatu project.
The CM said he has spoken to Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, requesting assistance to get environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. On the Mahadayi project, the government has decided to press for an early hearing of the case.