BENGALURU: Will a new strategy with four lines of reasoning help the state pass the crucial test when the Cauvery Supervisory Committee (CSC) and the Supreme Court hear the Cauvery water dispute on September 19 and 20 respectively?
The state’s legal team will meet in Delhi on Sunday to draw up the submissions at the meeting of the CSC and in Supreme Court. According to a senior counsel appearing for the state before the CSC and the SC, Karnataka will highlight main important issues and backthem with facts and figures such as:
1. Following the court order for release of Cauvery river water to TN for 20 days, more than one lakh cusecs of water has flown to the neighboring state, reducing the availability of water in state reservoirs to 31 TMC feet. Thus, with the present storage level, it would be difficult to meet the demand of drinking water of people living in Mandya, Mysuru and Bengaluru.
2. The North-East monsoon seems likely to be good this year. It has been scientifically proved that whenever the South-West monsoon fails, the North-East monsoon will ensure copious rain. The state’s legal team would submit a research article of the metrological department in this regard and state that the North-East monsoon seems set to enter TN on October 15.
3. The Mettur dam has 45 TMC feet of water, sufficient for the Samba crop. If the TN government releases an average of one TMC feet a day for irrigation, it would be sufficient for about 50 days. The North-East monsoon would then enter TN.
4. According to the opinion of agricultural experts and a study carried out in Chennai, Samba crop gives good yield of paddy if sown during the rainy season. Farmers would start sowing the Samba crop once the North-East monsoon enters Tamil Nadu.
Besides, Karnataka would present the ground situation at four reservoirs, as well as the decrease in percentage of inflow into reservoirs, along with comparative figures of the previous year. This year, the inflow has reduced drastically because of a truant South-West monsoon.
The legal team, however, seems apprehensive about the strategy to be adopted in case of an adverse order on September 20. Therefore, they are keeping their fingers crossed.
