Bengaluru: The Chief Minister of Karnataka has appealed for collaboration from all political parties to resolve water sharing disputes. He made these remarks during a convened all-party meeting at Vidhana Soudha on Wednesday, focused on addressing water sharing conflicts. He emphasized the state’s commitment to safeguard its interests and acknowledged the challenge of releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu due to irregular rainfall patterns occurring every five to six years. Notably, a definitive distress formula for such situations has not been established yet.
Confident in the state’s legal team, the Chief Minister expressed his belief in their ability to present a robust case in the Supreme Court regarding this matter.
He stressed that the responsibility of deciding on a distress formula rests with the Cauvery Water Management Authority. To mitigate crises, he highlighted the importance of constructing the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir with a storage capacity of 67 TMC water, enabling water release during periods of scarcity. The Chief Minister criticized Tamil Nadu’s opposition to the Mekedatu project, deeming it unjustified.
The Cauvery water dispute is a longstanding issue, with the Cauvery Water Management Authority and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee collectively holding numerous meetings. Since their formation, the state has faced challenges, as the Chief Minister mentioned.
He cited that while the obligation was to release 86.38 TMC of water, only 24 TMC water had been released until August 20. He commended Karnataka’s officials for their sincere efforts to communicate the facts before the authorities. He noted that Karnataka’s argument resulted in reducing the mandated water release from 15,000 to 10,000 cusecs, and further efforts were being made to re-evaluate this decision.
He recounted that Tamil Nadu officials exited a meeting with the Cauvery Water Management Authority, where Karnataka was presenting its difficulty in releasing 15,000 cusecs of water. Subsequently, Tamil Nadu filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, with the case scheduled for August 25, confident that the state’s legal representatives would present a compelling argument.
Emphasizing unity among political parties, the Chief Minister highlighted a consistent stance on Karnataka’s land, water, borders, and languages. He stressed the importance of avoiding politicization and focusing on safeguarding the welfare of the state’s population. Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar echoed the sentiment, assuring no compromise on the state’s irrigation interests.
Former Chief Ministers and various political figures voiced their support for the government’s legal efforts to protect the interests of the state’s farmers.