All party delegation from Karnataka to PM on Cauvery issue soon

An all party meeting convened by Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar today decided to go on a delegation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to plead against issuing of final notification by this month-end for implementing the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Shettar pointed out that it is not proper to notify the 2007 order as the appeal against the award by the state is still pending before the Supreme Court, and also stressed the need for consulting the State before the move.

The opposition BJP and JDS backed the Government on taking the delegation to the Centre on the issue.

Shettar also reiterated that the Cauvery Monitoring Committee had no powers to issue a directive to Karnataka to release 12 tmc ft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu in November, and added that the State has filed a petition before the Cauvery River Authority to suspend the order.

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Siddaramaiah and his counterpart in the Council, S R Patil (both Congress), JDS floor leader in the Assembly, H D Revanna and Lok Sabha member H N Ananth Kumar (BJP) were among those who took part in the deliberations.

Water Resources Minister Basavaraja Bommai and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister S Suresh Kumar were also present.