Don't notify Cauvery award: CM tells Centre
Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar on Monday again urged Prime Minister Manhmohan Singh not to notify the final award of Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) without consulting all riparian states.
In a letter to Singh, Shettar said that the Centre should not take the unilateral decision
to notify the CWDT award.
He has also sought an appointment with the Prime Minister to convince him to meet a Karnataka delegation, which is prepared to impress upon Singh the need to consult all states affected by the decision.
The Tribunal which adjudicated the long-standing Cauvery river water-sharing dispute pronounced the final award in 2007, allocatiing water to all the four riparian States: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.
However, Karnataka has contested the award in the Supreme Court.
Shettar’s letter came two days after his Tamil Nadu counterpart, Jayalalitha, wrote to Singh asking him notify the final order of the tribunal so as to ensure that Karnataka releases the water.
Tamil Nadu has also suffered a water crisis this year. The water, Jayalalitha claimed, could save crops in the state during this year of distress.
Shettar has further stated that a meeting of floor leaders of all the parties in the legislature and MPs of the Cauvery basin in Karnataka, held on December 15, has decided to take a delegation led by him to the Prime Minister to represent the State’s views on the publication of the final award.
As a civil appeal is pending before the Supreme Court and also the application filed before the Tribunal under Section 5 (3) of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, Karnataka has already expressed its opposition to the notification of the final award.
