Water row: Karnataka CM Bommai to meet Union Minister
Bengaluru(PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said he would meet Union Water Resources Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to press the Centre to resolve water disputes related to Mekedatu balancing reservoir, Mahadayi water project and Upper Krishna Project.
Bommai said he would, if needed, lead an all-party delegation from Karnataka to meet Shekhawat in the coming weeks.
He said the State would not agree to inter-linking of Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery and Pennar unless the allocation of water and the river basins was finalised.
"After the Assembly session, I will visit Delhi and discuss all inter-State water disputes such as Mekedatu, Mahadayi and Upper Krishna Project with Jalshakti Minister Shekhawat. I will apprise political parties in Karnataka about the outcome of our meeting, he told reporters after chairing an all-party meeting.
Karnataka Water Resources Minister Govind Karjol, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, JD(S) leader Bandeppa Kashempur, Opposition Congress leader in the Karnataka Legislative Council B K Hariprasad, former water resources ministers D K Shivakumar, M B Patil and H K Patil were among those who attended the meeting.
The Chief Minister said Karjol would visit Delhi on Monday or Tuesday and convey the developments taken place here. It was decided in the meeting that Mekedatu project would be pursued before the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).
The officials said the matter was discussed five or six times in the CWMA and the final meeting will be convened. The proceedings have not arrived yet. We have written to the government at the Centre to release the details of the proceedings in the CWMA, Bommai said.
The Chief Minister said he would make efforts to see that in the next meeting of the CWMA the detailed project report is discussed and approved.
Stating that Karnataka would try to get the environment clearance, Bommai said, I will get in touch with the Union Water Resources Minister to fix a meeting with the CWMA.
The Chief Minister said he would apprise all the political parties in Karnataka about the outcome of their meeting with the Water Resources Minister.
Regarding Mahadayi project, Bommai said since water allocation has been done and the notification has been made by the tribunal concerned, the opposition members wanted the government to get the environmental clearance and start the work.
The Chief Minister exuded confidence that Karnataka would get the clearance and start the work. With regard to the Upper Krishna Project Stage-3, he said the project is pending for many years.
The project got stayed in 2011. After the final order of the Krishna Tribunal's final order, whenever we made our efforts, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana opposed it. The project has got delayed, Bommai said.
Regarding the interlinking of Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery and Pennar, he said everyone in the meeting were unanimous that Karnataka should give its approval only after getting its share of water.
He said the opposition leaders wanted to get the technical details of the interlinking of water. After obtaining such details, the Chief Minister said he would share them with the opposition.
On interlinking of rivers, Bommai said the basins of the four rivers first have to be finalised.
So far, no allocation has taken place. It is not possible to give our approval without finalising the allocation of water for our State. We are seeking allocation... the Chief Minister said.
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RBI keeps policy rate unchanged amid inflationary pressure
Mumbai (PTI): The Reserve Bank on Wednesday expectedly kept interest rates unchanged amid hopes of a global recovery on the back of ceasefire in the six-week-long US/Israel-Iran conflict.
The policy decision comes as a month and a-half-long West Asia conflict has disrupted energy supplies, shot up crude oil prices and created fiscal and inflationary pressures for import-dependent nations like India.
This is the first monetary policy review after the government announced a fresh inflation target for the RBI last month. The government has asked the RBI to maintain retail inflation at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side for another five years ending March 2031.
Announcing the first bi-monthly monetary policy for the current fiscal, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has unanimously decided to retain short-term lending rate or repo rate at 5.25 per cent with a neutral stance.
The rate cut pause comes on the back of the consumer price index (CPI) based headline retail inflation that moved closer to the RBI's medium-term target of 4 per cent at 3.21 per cent in February.
Additionally, the rupee has depreciated by over 4 per cent since the war, which has consequences for pushing up import inflation.
However, the rupee has appreciated by 50 paise to 92.56 against US dollar following announcement of the ceasefire by the US and Iran.
Based on the recommendation of the MPC, the RBI reduced the repo rate by 25 bps each in February, April, and December 2025 and 50 basis points in June amidst easing retail inflation.
India's retail inflation dropped to a historic low of 0.25 per cent in October 2025, marking the lowest level since the Consumer Price Index (CPI) series was introduced.
However, the rupee declined to historic low and crossed 95 against a dollar last month making imports costlier, raising fears of rise in inflation. Rupee touched a record low of 95.21 on March 30, 2026.
