Karnataka govt to file appeal in SC against Cauvery panel

Bengaluru: Backed by an all-party meeting, the Karnataka government on Saturday decided to go in for an appeal in the Supreme Court against the setting up of the Cauvery Water Management Authority and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee.

The all-party meeting on the Cauvery issue decided that two senior officials nominated by the state government as its representatives to the authority and the committee will participate in the July 2 meeting to present Karnataka’s views.

The meeting, called by chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, also decided to raise the issue in Parliament. “Our officials will attend the meeting on July 2 and will raise our issues and present our views to safeguard the interest of Karnataka and its farmers,” water resources minister D.K. Shivakumar told reporters after the meeting.

Mr Shivakumar said, “Our Parliament members have agreed, cutting across party lines, to raise the issue in Parliament.”

He said that the government has decided to go in for an appeal in the Supreme Court under the guidance of legal luminaries Fali S. Nariman and Mohan Katarki, the state advocate-general.

The all-party meeting was called to plan Karnataka’s next move after the Centre’s decision to set up the Cauvery Water Management Authority and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee.

The Centre on June 22 constituted a nine-member Cauvery Water Management Authority and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee, comprising representatives from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. Karnataka initially did not nominate its representatives as the state had been opposing any move to form the authority and instead suggested formation of the Cauvery Decision Implementation Committee. After the Centre’s June 22 decision, Karnataka on June 23 nominated two senior officials as representatives to the authority and the committee under “protest” so as to block any further “damage” to the state’s interests.

The all-party meeting was attended by deputy chief minister G. Parameshwar, Leader of the Opposition B.S. Yeddyurappa, Union minister Sadanada Gowda, ministers from the state and several MPs and MLAs. Former chief minister Siddaramaiah did not attend the meet, and official sources said he had conveyed his inability to be present.

Pointing out that the chief minister had personally met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Cauvery issue during his June 18 visit to Delhi, Mr Shivakumar said the Centre notified and constituted regulatory committee and authority despite the state’s reservations.

He said that Karnataka has been affected by the apex court judgment and cited a provision that such matters needed to be deliberated in Parliament before the committee was constituted.