Bengaluru: The issue of release of water from the Cauvery River to Tamil Nadu is getting bigger day after day, and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Friday questioned the necessity of obliging the direction of the management board in this regard.
“Following the Supreme Court order and decision of the Cauvery Water Disputes Committee (CWDC) is okay. With the shortage of water for our farmers, what is the necessity to oblige the direction of the management board?” Kumaraswamy asked.
“Why is Tamil Nadu expanding their cultivation area? What is the allotment they have got for standing Kuruvai crop? Now what is the extent they are utilizing the water for? Illegally Tamil Nadu is cultivating more than four lakh acres of land which is three-times more than the actual cultivation. For that, what is the necessity for us to provide water?” Kumarswamy asked.
“We have to fight strongly in the court,” he added.
“It is to be seen whether the keys of the dam are with Sonia Gandhi or Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin,” he said.
Water Resources portfolio is with the deputy chief minister, D.K. Shivakumar, who said that the water has been released to Tamil Nadu not because of the alliance with DMK but to respect the order of the court. “We have to consider the plight of farmers of Karnataka and that’s why the appeal has been made with the tribunal for reconsideration.
“We also know about the law and Constitution. There is a court order. Earlier, also there was a distress formula. It is a big responsibility to save our farmers. The MLAs are opposing but the government will have to carry out a balancing act. The review of the order has been sought as we don’t have water for drinking purposes,” he said.
He further questioned: “Why previous governments released water to Tamil Nadu?”
Shivakumar stated that an all-party meeting would be conveyed soon. “We have a strong and vibrant government in New Delhi. But, still Mahadayi and Krishna River disputes are not solved,” he taunted. “All parties will have to come together to plan in this regard. Due to the shortage of rain, the situation has become difficult,” he said.
