Bengaluru: Making a concession of sorts, the state Legislative Assembly on Monday amended its previous resolution not to release water from its reservoirs in the Cauvery basin for any reason other than drinking and decided to release nearly six tmcft of water to save standing crops both in Mandya and Tamil Nadu. It claimed the concession was being made as the water level in the four reservoirs of the Cauvery basin had gone up from 27.60 tmc ft on September 23 when the last resolution was passed, to 34.13 tmc ft now.
With the farmers of the Cauvery basin demanding release of water to save their standing crops, the resolution said 27.60 tmc ft of water would be stored for drinking and the excess released for irrigation in both states. Admitting that the water released to the state’s farmers would also benefit Tamil Nadu, CM Siddaramaiah told the House, “Nowhere have we said that we will not release water to TN. All we did was to protect our drinking water requirements. We need 43 tmc ft to meet them, but we are expecting another 29 tmcft of water by December.”
While Mr Jagadish Shettar and Mr C T Ravi of the BJP wanted the government to specify the extent of standing crop in the state and how much water was needed to protect it, JD(S) floor leader, H.D. Kumaraswamy , supported the resolution saying it would help the state make a strong case when its SLP challenging the tribunal order came up for hearing on October 18. “If we present our case properly when the SLP comes up for hearing, we will get at least another 50 tmcft extra. And for that, we have to prove the court that we like to abide by the law of land,” he added.
Recalling that the state had faced embarrassment in the SC on the Cauvery issue even during the Bangarappa, Deve Gowda and Krishna governments, he hit out at the tribunal for asking the state to release 60 tmcft of water from Kabini, 52 tmcft from KRS and 80 tmcft from the catchment area below KRS.
Thumbs down to BJP’s ‘drop Nariman’ demand
The conduct of state’s senior counsel, Fali S Nariman, during the last hearing of Cauvery water dispute in the Supreme Court attracted caustic criticism from BJP members in the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council, but members of the treasury benches and JD(S) defended the legal luminary, on Monday.
When health and family welfare minister K.R. Ramesh Kumar asked BJP members to exercise restraint and not criticize Mr Nariman, JD (S) floor leader H.D. Kumaraswamy, asked the government to retain him for hearing of SLP, questioning the final verdict of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.
Opposition leader Jagadish Shettar raised doubts about the state legal team’s ability to argue the case, and referred to Mr Nariman’s stand in the apex court though both Houses of the legislature had adopted a resolution against release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.
In the Council, too, Opposition leader, K.S. Eshwarappa came down heavily on Mr Nariman for failing to safeguard the interests of the state in the dispute between riparian states. He demanded that Mr Nariman be dropped from the legal team, and replaced by another senior counsel. Speaking in defence of Mr Nariman, CM Siddaramaiah said that there was no question of replacing Mr Nariman at this point. “He was there for the last 37 years, including when Mr Deve Gowda was the CM. He has vast experience and knowledge about Cauvery water dispute and the sharing pattern. The government will provide him additional hands to deal with the SLP, when it comes up for hearing,” Mr Siddaramaiah added.
