JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda on Thursday demanded the Centre that the Ministry of Water Resources consider Karnataka's plea on requirement of water for the lift irrigation projects and the pending Makedatu scheme, before setting up the Cauvery Water Management Board (CMB).
Gowda called on Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari and discussed the issue. The meeting was held a day before the Union Water Resources Ministry convened the meeting of the chief secretaries of Cauvery riparian states to discuss the CMB.
On February 16, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had directed to form the CMB within six weeks in a verdict that marginally increased Karnataka's share of Cauvery water, thus reducing allocation for Tamil Nadu and settling the protracted water dispute between the two southern states.
"I have requested Gadkariji to set up the CMB after taking into account issues related to lift irrigation, the Makedatu project and the trans-basin diversion of water, among others," Gowda told reporters after the meeting. He also informed the government that the CMB should be set up if it benefits Karnataka and ensures 30-35 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of water to the state.
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