- Citing drought-like situation, Siddarmaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar are likely to meet the Union Jal Shakti Minister to discuss this matter
- CWMA has not come out with a formula on the quantum of water to be released in times of distress situation: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah
NE NEWS SERVICE
BENGALURU/CHENNAI, SEPT 20
Citing the “drought-like situation” in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said the state government will appeal in the Supreme Court for an injunction against the CWMA order that stipulates the release of about 5,000 cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu till September 28.
#WATCH | Delhi | Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar hold an important meeting regarding Cauvery river water sharing issue wherein Cauvery Water Management Authority ordered the state Govt to release 5000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu. pic.twitter.com/IEgp2RKXHq
— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2023
Siddarmaiah also sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention in this regard.
The order by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) came on September 18.
Siddarmaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar are likely to meet the Union Jal Shakti Minister to discuss this matter.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi urged the Congress government in Karnataka not to “politicise” the matter as the state has agreed to release 2,500 cusecs out of 5,000 cusecs of water to TN.
The issue was discussed in a meeting with all Members of Parliament and Union Ministers from Karnataka in the national capital here. Barring Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, all MPs from the state attended the meeting.
“The state is in distress as we have not received enough rainfall. There is a drought-like situation in the state. Out of 230 taluks, 195 taluks have been declared as drought-hit. In a meeting to be held soon, another 20-odd taluks will be declared drought-hit,” Siddaramaiah told reporters after the meeting.
August month saw a rainfall shortage for the first time in 123 years. In times of distress, there is no formula to decide how much water to be released for Tamil Nadu, he said.
“Unfortunately, there is no distress formula to address this suffering. ….We cannot release water. We will appeal to the Supreme Court for an injunction against the CWMA order…,” he said.
The chief minister also shared that the Supreme Court, in the modified order, had asked Karnataka to release 177.25 TMC of Cauvery water in a normal year. However, it did not specify the quantum of water to be released during any distress year.
“Till now, we were to release 108 TMC of water had it been a normal year. So far, only 39.6 TMC water has been given because there is no water and no rain,” he added. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said there is very little inflow of water in the state.
CWMA has not come out with a formula on the quantum of water to be released in times of distress situation, he said.
“We are facing a distress situation as we have only 1/3rd of the water. For the first time in the last 120 years, such a situation has risen. CWMA has asked us to release 5,000 cusecs of water, but we have no water even for drinking. We discussed this with all MPs. They have assured us they will support in our fight,” Shivakumar said.
Joshi has assured he will fix a meeting on behalf of Karnataka with the Union Jalshaki Minister to present the case, he said and added he has also sought time from the PM to discuss the matter.
Meanwhile, Joshi said the Congress government in Karnataka should talk to the DMK government in Tamil Nadu on the issue as the two parties are allies.
“They should have told to CWMA that it will not be possible to release water. ….It is your mistake,” he said and added MPs and ministers will help whenever possible, but they “should not politicise”.
He said DMK is an ally of the Congress party and asked how many times the state government spoke to the DMK-ruled Tamil Nadu government and its chief minister on this issue.
“The negotiation between two states should happen,” he suggested.
Will ensure our rights legally, says TN minister
#WATCH | Chennai: On Cauvery water row, Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Durai Murugan says, "I met the minister, Jal Shakti Minister so many times. It is a formality. We are only going to get justice from the Supreme Court. The problem is not releasing the water as per the… pic.twitter.com/OFNhQ0n58n
— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2023
Senior Tamil Nadu Minister Duraimurugan on Wednesday said that neighbouring Karnataka has never agreed to any proposals made by his state in the Cauvery water-sharing dispute and that whatever rights it gained has come because it approached the Supreme Court over the matter.
With the two states once again locked in a dispute in the wake of Karnataka’s claim that it has inadequate storage to share water, Tamil Nadu has sought that the pro-rata-basis distress sharing formula be implemented, he told reporters here.
The state minister for water resources, who led an all-party delegation from Tamil Nadu to meet Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in New Delhi on the issue, described such meetings as a “formality”.
“It is a formality but we will get justice only from the Supreme Court,” he told reporters here upon his return from the national capital.
The problem is “non-releasing of water as per the SC order” by Karnataka as TN requests the apex court as well as the central government to implement the distress sharing formula. The SC has said water can be shared on pro-rata basis during such times, he said.
“Now we want pro-rata based water (sharing),” he added.
He also accused Karnataka of “never agreeing” to Tamil Nadu’s proposals, such as setting up of a tribunal and said that it was set up after much struggle.
“I have been (a part of) the long history of Cauvery from the beginning. Karnataka has never agreed to whatever we have asked for. The rights we have got have been ensured (by taking up the issues) in the Supreme Court. Will ensure (TN’s rights) in the coming days also like that,” he said.
