All-party meet soon to chalk out strategy on Cauvery board

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government, which has decided to make its opposition clear to the constitution of the Cauvery Water Management Board (CWMB) during its first meeting , also plans to hold an all- party meeting with participation from all MPs from the state, to chalk out its future strategy on the issue.

Speaking to reporters after a consultation with water resources and legal experts here on Monday, Water Resources Minister, D K Shivakumar said the state would not get into a confrontation with the Centre or Supreme Court, but would  register its protest at the board’s meeting.

“There are indications that the Centre will hold the first meeting of the CWMB on July 2. As we do not want it to take decisions in our  absence, we will attend it, but register our protest. Water resources secretary, Rakesh Singh and managing director of the Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Mr H L Prasanna will  represent the state,” he said.

Denying opposition claims that the state had delayed in reacting to the situation, Mr Shivakumar asserted that the Chief Minister had not wasted even a minute on the issue. ''Even before the board was constituted, the Chief Minister met the Prime Minister and the Union Water Resource Minister to explain our stand. Although they promised to convene a meeting of the four states involved before setting up the board, they issued a notification constituting it overnight and even appointed its members,'' he regretted.

Asked if the Chief Minister would write to the Prime Minister now on the issue, Mr Shivakumar replied in the negative, however, revealing that the government  planned to hold an all- party meeting to draw up a strategy in a few days. “We don’t want to have a confrontation with anyone. The BJP, which  blames us on the issue for political reasons,  should consider the state’s interests. We seek its support too,”' he added.