The Hindu : Cauvery meet put off, Krishna agrees to give 6 tmcft of water

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 14, 2003

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Cauvery meet put off, Krishna agrees to give 6 tmcft of water

By Gargi Parsai

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, J. Jayalalithaa, with the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, in New Delhi on Monday. — Photo: V. Sudershan

New Delhi Jan. 13. Karnataka today agreed to release 1,200 cusecs of Cauvery water on a daily basis to the Mettur reservoir in Tamil Nadu till February-end — it works out to about six tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) even as the Centre asked both the States to work out the possibility of enhancing the quantum of releases in the next two weeks as part of distress-sharing.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, appealed to the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, at a meeting here today, to direct Karnataka to ``immediately'' release some water to Tamil Nadu to save the ``samba'' paddy crop. She sought the release of at least 18.8 tmcft, which was deficit, in ``good quantums'' for the standing crop.

During the 40-minute meeting with Mr. Vajpayee after the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) meeting was postponed due to lack of quorum, Ms. Jayalalithaa said the State might suffer a loss of Rs. 2,360 crores with the failure of two rice crops this season. She sought allocation of two lakh tonnes of rice and a cash compensation of Rs. 400 crores to farmers, besides ensuring waiver of the principal of the medium-term and short-term loans taken by farmers.

At a separate meeting with the Prime Minister, the Karnataka Chief Minister, S. M. Krishna, agreed to release ``some water'' as a goodwill gesture to Tamil Nadu. This was conveyed by the Water Resources Minister, Arjun Charan Sethi, to mediapersons later. PMO sources later said he had agreed to release 6 to 7 tmcft.

However, emerging from the meeting, Mr. Krishna said he explained to Mr. Vajpayee the difficulties and hardships faced by his State owing to drought. Asked specifically what was the quantum of releases acceptable to him, he said, ``I cannot say what is acceptable. The State has obligations under the Supreme Court order.''

Mr. Krishna said 800 to 1,000 cusecs was being ensured at Mettur. Asked if he had been directed by the Prime Minister to release water to Tamil Nadu, he said, ``no direction has been given to Karnataka.''

The formal meeting of the CRA was postponed due to lack of quorum on November 27, when Ms. Jayalalithaa dropped out at the eleventh hour and the Kerala Chief Minister, A. K. Antony stayed away.

Today, however, while Ms. Jayalalithaa and Mr. Krishna arrived at the Prime Minister's House at 11.30 a.m., the Pondicherry Chief Minister, N. Rangasamy, and Mr. Antony were not there. Mr. Rangasamy expressed his inability to attend the meeting due to ``ill health'' through a fax sent to the PMO at 9.45 a.m. Mr. Antony had nominated the State Irrigation Minister, T.M. Jacob, to represent him.

It is believed that Mr. Rangasamy's absence today is part of a Congress strategy to prevent Karnataka from getting a ``directive'' from the CRA meeting to release water to Tamil Nadu. Mr. Krishna and his Government face a contempt petition in the Supreme Court for ``non-compliance'' of the order of the CRA and the court on water releases to Tamil Nadu during the distress months of September and October.

However, in working out the 6 tmcft flows to Mettur today the technical team did not take into account the deficit as there is no agreement on that account between the two States.

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