The Hindu : CRA monitoring committee meet next week

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 31, 2003

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CRA monitoring committee meet next week

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JULY 30. The Centre today announced that it would convene a meeting of the monitoring committee of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) next week in the wake of demands that a distress sharing formula between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka be evolved.

The Union Water Resources Minister, Arjun Charan Sethi, announced this in the Rajya Sabha after an acrimonious debate saw members from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka frequently trading charges over alleged violation of treaties on sharing of river water.

He also accepted a suggestion by the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson, Najma Heptulla, for presenting a detailed statement on the number of dams constructed in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

Mr. Sethi said the Government would soon set up a second tribunal for Krishna water disputes and a final report from the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal was awaited. Indicating the complexity of the task, he said the CRA had held six meetings under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister while the monitoring committee had met 17 times to find an early solution. The second tribunal on Krishna waters was being set up following requests from several States.

Earlier, members from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh made common cause against Karnataka, with P. G. Narayanan (AIADMK) saying: "What is already happening in Tamil Nadu is also happening to Andhra Pradesh. Now they are constructing dams across Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers and blocking the flow of water to Andhra Pradesh." "We would like you to remember there are 39 seats in Tamil Nadu and 42 in Andhra Pradesh. The Central Government cannot bear to ignore this, and, if all the 81 seats go against you, imagine your fate after the next Lok Sabha elections."

Amidst protests from Congress members, including the senior leader, Pranab Mukherjee, Mr. Narayanan claimed that no national party had ensured justice because they had major stakes in Karnataka and none in Tamil Nadu. His contention was partly supported by A. Vijayaraghavan (CPI-M) who charged the Centre with not taking any initiative to resolve the dispute.

C. Ramachandraiah (Telugu Desam Party) pointed out that the existing Karnataka projects together with those in the pipeline would consume more than the share allocated to the State by the Krishna Water Tribunal. He said he was more concerned about projects that were affecting the drought-prone Rayalseema region and Mehboobnagar district. Construction by Karnataka was also affecting the drinking water needs of Hyderabad as well as other towns such as Guntur and Narsaraopet.

Responding to Mr. Narayanan's charge that "when there is distress, not even a drop goes to Tamil Nadu" and "all attempts to evolve the distress-sharing formula are sabotaged by Karnataka", Janardhana Poojary (Cong.) said it was the Karnataka Chief Minister who had suggested the

formula but it was rejected by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.

Mr. Poojary said Karnataka too was badly affected by drought yet it had started releasing 3,000 cusecs of water since Tuesday to Tamil Nadu. Andhra Pradesh, he said, should also stop work on 10 irrigation projects that have been taken up without the Centre's approval. H.K. Javare Gowda (Janata Dal-Secular) claimed that the projects being constructed by the Karnataka Government were for drinking water.

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