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Krishna offer a bid to stall Tribunal proceedings: CM

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI MAY 5. Virtually rejecting the Karnataka Chief Minister, S. M. Krishna's offer of a ``negotiated settlement'' of the Cauvery tangle, the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, today told the Assembly that ``her Government has an unwavering belief that it is only the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and the Supreme Court that can provide a fair deal''.

Making a suo motu statement, the Chief Minister said her Government had a staunch faith in the judicial system. As the Cauvery River Authority and the Monitoring Committee were formed legally on the directive of the Supreme Court, the Government would continue to press for implementation of the mandatory provisions of the Tribunal awards, interim as well as final (to be given). She also pointed out that now, the Tribunal order had the same force and sanction of a Supreme Court decree.

When the proceedings before the Tribunal were in the final stages, Mr Krishna's statement was merely an attempt to stall them as also deny Tamil Nadu its legitimate share.

`Dilatory tactic'

Recalling that five rounds of talks held in 1996-97 on the order of the Supreme Court had not borne fruit, the Chief Minister wondered ``what is the point resuming bilateral talks?''

In view of the poor storage in the Mettur reservoir, the State Government had already approached the Centre for convening a meeting of the Monitoring Committee immediately to finalise a distress-sharing formula. ``Possibly, the Karnataka Chief Minister does not want such a water sharing arrangement and the statement in Tirupati is part of his dilatory tactics to cause the delay'', she observed.

Would it be prudent to place faith in bilateral talks after Karnataka, ``without fear'', ignored the directions of the Tribunal and the Supreme Court? Karanataka's offer of negotiations was like adding insult to injury, after having disobeyed the Tribunal's orders, after having become a subject for contempt of court and caused incalculable damage to Tamil Nadu.

Ms. Jayalalithaa also read out portions of the May 1990 Supreme Court order on the constitution of the Tribunal, which traced how the attempts to resolve the dispute through negotiations failed.

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