Pennar river dispute: SC asks Centre to form negotiation panel

The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, directed the Centre to constitute a fresh negotiation committee within two weeks to settle the Pennar river water sharing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. 

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Prashant Kumar Misra said that the committee should furnish its report within three months on the outcome of the exercise. 

Senior counsel Krishnamurthy, appearing for Tamil Nadu, opposed the request of the union ministry of Jal Shakti to reopen negotiations saying it was a waste of time.

Senior counsel Mohan Katarki, representing Karnataka, submitted that the previous negotiation committee conducted proceedings in an arbitrary manner by hurriedly concluding only after two meetings, that the dispute could not be resolved by negotiation.

Katarki said the previous committee had not conducted field visits. Additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, submitted that inter-state disputes being a sensitive matter, further negotiation should be permitted. 

South Pennar or Ponnaiyar or Pinakini originates in Nandi Hills near Bengaluru and flows into the Bay of Bengal through Tamil Nadu, after crossing Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. 

TN has objected to Karnataka’s project to build a 0.5 tmcft storage facility along the Markandeya river in Kolar district, which is a tributary of South Pennar.

The facility, which is around 80 per cent complete, aims to supply water to Malur, Bangarpet and Kolar and about 48 villages in the adjoining areas.

Tamil Nadu, in November 2019, filed an interlocutory application in the apex court, seeking direction to Karnataka to restrain it from building a reservoir on Markandeya river, alleging that since the river is a tributary of Pennaiyar river, the construction of a dam by Karnataka would obstruct natural flow to the downstream.

TN has also requested the Centre to constitute a tribunal to resolve the dispute over sharing of water between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. 

The Centre earlier informed the Supreme Court that it was ready to constitute the tribunal. However, Karnataka requested the Centre to constitute a fresh negotiation committee.