The Hindu : `Surplus, deficits should be shared on a pro-rata basis'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Aug 09, 2003

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`Surplus, deficits should be shared on a pro-rata basis'

S. Ranganathan, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Cauvery Delta Farmers' Welfare Association, writes:

This refers to the report in The Hindu (Aug. 7) "T.N.'s disappointment continues". A part of the report pertains to my interview to your Special Correspondent. Since the full interview is not published, the news is bound to create some confusion among the readers and farmers. To set things right, I am furnishing the full text:

"Karnataka's attitude is always to delay any proceedings before the CRA or the CMC. Even in the present instance, when the CMC constituted a Technical Committee to go into the question of sharing of water during distress periods, they prayed for adjournments and delayed conveying their decision by a couple of months. Their idea is to deny water to Tamil Nadu during the crucial months of June, July and August and thus indirectly prevent the delta farmers from planning their `kuruvai' crop.

"Karnataka should know that the present CRA and CMC are constituted purely as a temporary arrangement to deal with the implementation of the interim award of the Tribunal and also to suggest an ad-hoc water sharing formula during distress periods. The tribunal may come out with a permanent solution at the time of its final award.

"The actual sharing of water should be in such a way that it should start right at the commencement of the monsoon, when the reservoirs record the inflows.

Without going too much into the technicalities, the surplus and deficits should be shared on a pro-rata basis. For example, when the monsoon plays truant, the water that is shared between the States, if found not sufficient for the crop's requirement, may be impounded in the respective reservoirs of the States, and utilised as and when the need arises. The southwest monsoon is always a dependable one and the contribution, compared to Tamil Nadu, is always more in Karnataka. Proportionate sharing should commence after the flows reach a fair level in their reservoirs.

"The 1987 experience can be cited as a model year. The Mettur dam was opened for irrigation only in November for the directly sown "samba" crop raised in late August and the available water was stored in Mettur and utilised for the final wettings.

Though the yield in 1987 was only average, at least the delta farmers were able to harvest a crop that year. This was not done the last season due essentially to a belligerent attitude on the part of Karnataka."

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