Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary P.Rama Mohana Rao on Tuesday explained in detail the ground situation in the Cauvery Delta region, totally dependent on water from river Cauvery in Karnataka, to the high-level committee of the Union Government which wrapped up its two-day visit to the state on Monday.
The team headed by Central Water Commission Chairman G.S. Jha met Mr.Rao and S.K. Prabhakar, Principal Secretary, Public Works Department and shared their experiences in the Delta region, Salem and Mettur on Sunday and Monday.
“The Chief Secretary explained to the Central team in detail the ground realities and the crucial role the water released from Karnataka plays in cultivation of crops in the region. He also told them that since the North East Monsoon has not yet set in, the water from Karnataka is the lifeline of farmers,” sources said.
The Tamil Nadu Government had submitted a memorandum to the team on Sunday and at the meeting on Tuesday, the Chief Secretary also got to know the views of the Central team on the sensitive issue. The state demands that 60 tmcft of water be released immediately for cultivation of at least one crop in the Delta region.
The team was constituted by the Central Government on October 5 on the directions of the Supreme Court, which said the committee would visit the Cauvery Basin in Karnataka and Cauvery Delta in Tamil Nadu to assess the ground realities in both states. The team would submit its report to the Supreme Court on October 17.
Speaking to reporters, Mr.Jha said the team was in the process of processing the data collected in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and analysing them. "There is no demand as such and we have not tried to put things in the demand and release manner. We will be just assessing the ground realities," he said, when asked about demands from the Tamil Nadu Government.
"Of course, the utilisation part will also be there; availability and utilisation, so you may say that the demand will be in the form what is the utilisation, what can be the best utilisation possible," he said.
Farmers of the Cauvery delta region had on Monday told the team that they were incurring a loss of around Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 2,500 crore each year due to the Cauvery dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
