Opposition Leader Udhayanidhi Stalin has said that Karnataka’s attempt to seek a review of the Cauvery water-sharing allocation must be thwarted.
In a statement issued by him on this, he said: I condemn the Karnataka state government’s petition in the Supreme Court seeking to “reconsider the Cauvery river water-sharing arrangement that has been finalized by the Cauvery Tribunal and upheld by the Supreme Court,” as well as its stubborn insistence that it will “definitely build the Mekedatu dam,” which would affect the welfare of Tamil Nadu farmers.
As early as 1970, the Tamil Nadu government led by Dr. Kalaignar demanded that a Cauvery Water Tribunal be constituted to resolve the Cauvery water dispute, and the Cauvery Water Tribunal, set up in 1990, initially issued an interim award granting Tamil Nadu 205 TMC.
To prevent that award from being implemented, the Karnataka government brought in the “Karnataka Cauvery Irrigation Protection Ordinance, 1991.” The Supreme Court struck it down.
After this, in 2007, the Cauvery Water Tribunal issued its final award. Challenging that as well, the Karnataka government filed an appeal—and in 2018, the Supreme Court itself upheld the Cauvery Water Tribunal’s award with some modifications.
Moreover, in the Cauvery river basin, on the basis of 50 percent dependability, after examining all aspects, it accepted the tribunal’s determination that the total usable water available was 740 TMC.
It made only a minor change in water allocation and confirmed the water share allocation as 404.25 TMC for Tamil Nadu and 284.75 TMC for Karnataka.
Therefore, the Cauvery river water sharing is a concluded and final allocation. Hence, Karnataka’s request to review and reallocate the duly confirmed Cauvery water sharing cannot be accepted.
Similarly, despite the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly passing resolutions several times against the attempt to build the Mekedatu dam, the Karnataka government’s continued stubborn insistence that “we will build the dam no matter what” is not conducive to good relations between the two states.
Already, on March 4 last year, under the leadership of the then Chief Minister and DMK leader, a detailed request was made to the Union Jal Shakti Ministry that “an arbitral tribunal should be constituted under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 to address the issue related to building the Mekedatu dam.”
On June 19, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly also passed a resolution opposing the Mekedatu project and calling for the establishment of an arbitration tribunal to resolve this issue.
The Cauvery River is the lifeline of Tamil Nadu’s Cauvery Delta region. The livelihoods of lakhs of farmers and Tamil Nadu’s agricultural economy depend on Cauvery water.
Therefore, the Chief Minister should not stand by and watch as efforts are made to reopen the already legally settled and finalized Cauvery water-sharing arrangement, or to proceed with the Mekedatu dam project, which could harm Tamil Nadu’s interests.
The Chief Minister must firmly oppose this move by Karnataka.
Immediate consultation with the authorities regarding the Supreme Court case related to this should be conducted, senior lawyers should be appointed, and steps must be taken to ensure that Tamil Nadu’s rights are not affected in any way.
Furthermore, he has said, “I request that the Prime Minister, when he comes to Tamil Nadu, be urged to press for the demand to set up an arbitration tribunal to build the Mekedatu dam.”