The Hindu : Cauvery River Authority to meet?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 09, 2002

Front Page

Front Page

Cauvery River Authority to meet?

By Gargi Parsai

New Delhi July 8. The Centre is thinking of convening a meeting of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) to resolve the issue of the release of Cauvery waters by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu under the interim award of the Cauvery Tribunal. The only hitch is that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, is said to be reluctant to participate in a meeting of the Authority, which is chaired by the Prime Minister and has all the riparian States' Chief Ministers as members.

Tamil Nadu had officially conveyed to the Union Water Resources Ministry last month that it would not be able to attend meetings of the Authority or of the official-level Cauvery River Monitoring Committee. A meeting of the Chief Ministers of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Kerala may have to be convened as the Karnataka Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, wrote to the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee on Saturday that he was unable to release even three tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) water to Tamil Nadu (as directed by the Prime Minister). He said the water levels in Karnataka's four reservoirs were low and the rainfall in the catchment area had not been adequate.

The CRA meet will hinge on Tamil Nadu's willingness to participate. Those familiar with the issue say that both the neighbouring States should talk to each other or participate in the meeting of the CRA to resolve the issue. The CRA was formed on the directions of the Supreme Court as a political mechanism headed by the Prime Minister, to facilitate the implementation of the interim award on Cauvery.

As per the interim award, Karnataka has to release 205 tmcft water to Tamil Nadu in a water year beginning June. According to sources, Karnataka should have released the stipulated cumulative quantum of 42.76 tmcft to Tamil Nadu by July-end for this water year. Against this, Tamil Nadu has received only 2.91 tmcft.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

Stories in this Section

All-party meet rejects EC norm on assets, antecedents

India still ready for joint surveillance of LoC: Fernandes

Shabir Shah willing to participate in J&K polls

Cauvery River Authority to meet?

Railways set to fight fare war

3 held for `bid' on Musharraf

SC to decide jurisdiction