Could not solve Cauvery dispute, rues Gadkari

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday rued as “unfortunate” that he could not solve the Cauvery river water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu despite putting every possible effort during his tenure as Water Resources Minister.

Delivering his address at the 34th convocation of the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) here, Gadkari said all that needs to solve the inter-state water dispute is “strong political will” and “right attitude.”

He also spoke about the water crisis that is staring at several metropolitan cities in the country, including Chennai, and stressed on the need to conserve water and prevent huge quantities of water from reaching the ocean.

“During my tenure as Water Resources Minister, I solved eight inter-state water disputes. I would give six months’ time for state governments to come up with ideas to solve the disputes. I used to tell them that if they don’t offer solutions, then they won’t get money from the Centre,” Gadkari said.

Dwelling into the Cauvery water disputes between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Gadkari said it was “unfortunate” that he could not resolve the decades-old issues between the two neighbouring states. “There is no water shortage actually. Unfortunately, I could not succeed in resolving (Cauvery) issue. I took so many efforts but could not emerge successful,” the Union Minister said.

However, he exuded confidence that the NDA Government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi would solve the dispute between the two states amicably in the near future. Gadkari said all that needs to solve the dispute is a “strong political will” and “right attitude.”

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have been fighting over sharing of Cauvery water for nearly half-a-century. Both states have fought bitter battles in the Supreme Court whose verdict has now resulted in the constitution of Cauvery Management Board (CMB).

Touching upon his pet project of linking the Godavari with the Cauvery, Gadkari said Tamil Nadu would be absolved of all its water woes once the project is implemented.

“Only when we were reviewing the Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh, I realised that a lot of water is going into the sea. That was when the project to link Godavari and Cauvery was conceived. If we can prevent more water from entering the ocean, we can solve the water crisis,” Gadkari said.