Bengaluru: Legal luminaries have advised the state government to make a strong presentation on the ground reality on availability of water in the Cauvery basin with facts and figures before the Cauvery Supervisory Committee (CSC) as well as the Supreme Court during future hearings on September 19 and 20 respectively.
During a meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah here on Thursday, the luminaries who included judges, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, former judges of the Karnataka High Court and former advocate generals, advised the state government to highlight the poor storage of water in the four reservoirs and the need to meet drinking requirements.
They discussed the possible options if the Supreme Court passes an adverse order on September 20. A senior legal personality who attended the meeting told this newspaper that “non compliance of the order will not amount to willful disobeyence of the court, if ground realities make it impossible for the state government to release water.”
“Since storage of water in our reservoirs is only 31 tmcft, it would impossible for the state to further release water considering the need to meet drinking requirements. The government should present ground realities in the Cauvery basin and water storage in the Mettur dam in TN, before the Supreme Court on the next date of hearing”, said former advocate general
B.V. Acharya in the meeting.
“Convincing the Supreme Court not to pass an adverse order on the next date of hearing will be the only option left for us. Besides, the state government can seek the intervention of the Prime Minister to resolve the dispute in a distress situation.
The final order of the Cauvery Disputes Tribunal provides an opportunity for both states to resolve the issues amicably”, the former judges and advocate generals pointed out. They did not favour seeking a change of bench or the filing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Supreme Court.
