Karnataka to challenge formation of Cauvery Authority in SC
Bengaluru, June 30: A miffed Karnataka would challenge the setting up of the Cauvery River Management Authority (CRMA) and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) by the Centre in the Supreme Court as they were formed without consulting the state, a senior minister said on Saturday.
"As the CWMA and CWRC were constituted without considering our state's views, we have decided to challenge their notification in the Supreme Court," Minister for Medium and Major Irrigation D.K. Shivakumar told reporters here after an all-party meeting on the politically sensitive issue.
The Union Water Resources Ministry on June 1 notified the Authority and the Committee as part of the scheme the apex court directed on May 18 for implementing the 2007 Cauvery Water Tribunal Award.
Though the Tribunal awarded the quantum of the river water to be shared among the four southern states -- Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, the top court modified it when Karnataka and Tamil Nadu legally challenged it over the last decade.
The apex court on February 16 increased Karnataka's share by 14.75 tmc (thousand million cubic) feet to 284.75 from 270 tmc and lowered Tamil Nadu's share to 404.25 tmc from 419 tmc the Tribunal awarded.
The court, however, upheld the Tribunal's award of 30 tmc to Kerala and 7 tmc to Puducherry.
The state's share was increased ostensibly to meet the increasing drinking water needs of its bustling capital Bengaluru, which acquired a global status and though located outside the Cauvery river basin.
The 802 km-long rain-fed Cauvery basin has 740 tmc water in a normal year.
"All the parties have agreed to raise the issue in Parliament, as the CWMA and CWRC have been set up without discussion in the people's court on them or the scheme, which is against the interests of our state," asserted Shivakumar.
Water Resources Principal Secretary Rakesh Singh and Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd Managing Director H.L. Prasanna are the state's representatives on the CWMA and CWRC.
The Central Water Commission Chairman Masood Hussain heads the CWMA, while its Irrigation Management Organisation Chief Engineer Navin Kumar is Chairman of the CWRC and also member of the Authority.
The technical panel, which will be based in Bengaluru, is mandated to ensure Karnataka releases 177.25 tmc feet of the river water to Tamil Nadu in a normal year as per the Tribunal award and directed by the apex court.
Endorsing Kumar's views, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy told reporters the JD-S-Congress coalition government had decided to protest against the formation of the Cauvery Authority and the Committee without consulting the state by the central government.
"We are looking at filing a review petition in the Supreme Court against the setting up of the CWMA and CWRC," reiterated Kumaraswamy.
The Chief Minister on June 18 also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to operate the Authority and the Committee till the issues related to cropping pattern were addressed as they were part of the court-directed scheme.
"Our legal team, headed by eminent counsel Fali Nariman will decide on our appeal through a review petition to be filed in the Supreme Court," added Shivakumar.
Opposition BJP leader in the hung assembly B.S. Yeddyurappa said all the political parties were united on the Cauvery issue.
"We have decided to discuss the Cauvery issue in the monsoon session of Parliament (beginning from July 18) to get justice for the farmers in the river basin," Yeddyurappa told reporters.
Central ministers from the southern state D.V. Sadananda Gowda and Anant Kumar, Congress Lok Sabha member M. Veerappa Moily, BJP's Lok Sabha member from Mysuru Pratap Simha and newly elected legislators from the river basin region participated in the two-hour long meeting at the state's secretariat in the city centre.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Kharge has put 'full stop' to leadership speculation in Karnataka: Minister Parameshwara
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Friday said AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge has put a "full stop" on the issue of leadership change in the state.
Kharge's statement has a lot of significance and there ends the matter for now. Everyone in the party should respect and accept this, he said.
Parameshwara was referring to Kharge's statement on Thursday that there was no chief minister change in Karnataka "for now" and that the leadership issue in the state will be resolved soon.
Kharge's statement came amid speculation within the party and political circles about a possible decision on leadership change and cabinet reshuffle after May 4, once the results for assembly elections in four states and one union territory, along with bypolls to two assembly segments in Karnataka, are announced.
"Mallikarjun Kharge is our party's national president. He has a lot of experience. Several people, including me, have said that in the case of change (in leadership), if he (Kharge) comes (as CM), no one could speak in front of his experience and everyone would accept it. While replying to it, Kharge said that there is a chief minister now, and there is no question of change as of now," Parameshwara said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "I welcome his (Kharge) statement because I feel he has expressed his opinion after a discussion involving him, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala (both AICC general secretaries). I may be right or wrong. I feel that his statement has a lot of significance. So that matter ends there for now."
Responding to a question on repeated statements by several party leaders regarding leadership change, the home minister said, what the AICC chief has said on the matter is final. It should be respected and accepted by all in the party. There is no meaning in interpreting it further.
"I cannot respond to what others say, but I can say my opinion. In my opinion, the AICC chief is the supreme authority in the party. He, along with Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, are our high command. If the high command has said something, we should both respect and accept it. There ends the matter," he said.
Kharge has put a "full stop" on the issue, he further said, adding that, "When he has said there is no change. It is a full stop."
Responding to a question on Parameshwara's recent statement about Kharge becoming chief minister, the AICC chief on Thursday said, "You (media), he (Parameshwara), and people at the top say that it is better if I become CM. But more than fate, as per my ideology and my service to the party so far, Sonia Gandhi makes decisions regarding me."
He had further said, "But that question does not arise now. There is already a CM here. If Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and I together have to take any decision in that direction, it will take some time. Let's wait and see."
Kharge on Friday too said no date has been fixed yet to discuss a possible leadership change in Karnataka.
Supporters of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar have been insisting on his elevation in line with a reported power-sharing agreement with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah when the party won the 2023 Assembly elections. Some have even claimed that "sweet news" is expected by May 15, which is Shivakumar's birthday.
The leadership tussle within the ruling party has intensified amid speculation about a possible change of chief minister after the Congress government completed the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20, 2025.
The speculation has been fuelled by a reported "power-sharing" arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar at the time of government formation in 2023.
