BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that an appeal will be submitted to the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) against its order to the state to release 1 tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu every day. He also said that an all-party meeting will be held on July 14 to decide on the next step to be taken by the state government in this matter.
He gave this information at a press conference on Friday after holding a meeting with ministers and senior officials at Home Office ‘Krishna’. “It was expressed in the meeting that the government should file an appeal against this order before the Cauvery Water Management Authority”, Siddaramaiah said.
“It was decided to hold an all-party meeting at 4 pm on July 14. All parties have always been together on the issue of water in Karnataka. Therefore, an all-party meeting will be held”, he said. “Union Ministers, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha members and MLAs of that part will also be invited to the meeting. Taking everyone into confidence, the next step of the government will be decided,” he added.
“Although there is a weather forecast that there will be normal rainfall this time, so far, there is a 28 per cent shortfall in inflow to all four dams in the state in Cauvery river basin which shows input deficit. We have clearly stated our position on this to the CWRC. Also, we requested not to make any decision till the end of July. However, the CWRC has asked us to release 1 tmcft of water every day from July 12”, he said.
“While measuring at Biligundlu, 5,000 cusecs of water is being released into Tamil Nadu, which is equal to the Kabini dam inflow. In all four reservoirs of the Cauvery basin, only 60 per cent of water is available. We also need to provide water for agricultural activities. Keeping in mind the lack of rain, we have requested to wait till end of July”, he said.
The governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been locked in a protracted tussle over the sharing of Cauvery waters. The river is seen as a major source of sustenance for the people in either state.The Centre formed the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) on June 2, 1990, to adjudicate disputes between Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Puducherry with respect to their individual water-sharing capacities. (ANI)