CM HDK, Water Resources Minister DKS hit out at Modi govt over Cauvery Authority

Bengaluru, Jun 23: Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and Water Resource Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre for notifying the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and asserted Karnataka’s fight would continue against “technical flaws”.

“From day one, Karnataka has never disobeyed the law. We have respected the federal structure, despite our people facing hardship. This should not be construed as our weakness,” Kumaraswamy told reporters here.

Karnataka has argued that allowing the CWMA to operate reservoirs and determine cropping pattern was against its interests. Also, allowing the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) to gauge water every 10 days in the Cauvery basin reservoirs and regulate the release of water to irrigation canals was an infringement of its rights, the state has argued.

The Centre notified the composition of the CWMA and the CWRC on Friday.

“I have said already that the Supreme Court order should be obeyed, but the way the scheme has been drafted, it not only violates Karnataka’s rights but also distorts the Interstate River Water Disputes Act,” Kumaraswamy said.

“There are technical problems when it comes to implementation. There are fundamental mistakes in the scheme. I have argued that they should be fixed. Otherwise, we don’t have an objection,” he added.

The government will write to the Centre once again seeking resolution of the errors, Kumaraswamy said.

“I have appointed a water resources expert to discuss this and I’ve also discussed with the advocate-general. Let’s see if there’s a minute possibility of fighting this legally. But we are ready for talks. Even Union Water Resources Minister (Nitin Gadkari) told me he’ll call for a meeting after 15 days,” Kumaraswamy said.

Shivakumar, who also holds the Water Resources Ministry, said the Central government has succumbed to pressure from Tamil Nadu and notified the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).

“Though our chief minister H D Kumaraswamy had consulted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over holding a widespread consultation over constituting CWMA, the Union government went ahead with it unilaterally,” he said and added that the State government would take a legal course to fight this injustice.