Karnataka government files review petition before CWMA

The review petition says that the water can’t be released to Tamil Nadu and a permission should be granted to go ahead with the Mekedatu project.

The Karnataka government on Saturday has filed a revision petition before Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA)against its directive to release 3,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu, chief minister Siddaramaiah said, adding that the government will also move Supreme Court after reviewing the situation.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah holds a meeting with retired judges of the Supreme Court and the Advocate General over the release of the Cauvery River water to Tamil Nadu, in Bengaluru on Friday. (ANI)

According to a statement from the chief minister’s office (CMO), the review petition says that the water can’t be released to Tamil Nadu and a permission should be granted to go ahead with the Mekedatu project.

“As announced after the meeting with experts, we have filed a review petition to the Cauvery Water Management Board regarding the Cauvery water release order. After reviewing the situation, a review petition will be filed before the Supreme Court,” Siddaramaiah told reporters on Saturday.

On Friday, Siddaramaiah, along with senior cabinet members had held a meeting with retired Supreme Court judges to address the ongoing Cauvery water dispute. The meeting followed the directive from the Cauvery Water Management Authority to release 3,000 cusecs of water from the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu.

A statement from the CMO, after the meeting on Friday, announced that a committee would be established to provide counsel on water disputes. This committee’s scope would extend beyond the Cauvery river, encompassing all inter-state river disputes within the state.

The Karnataka government had earlier stated that the state needs 70 thousand million cubic (TMC) feet of water for irrigation, 30 tmc feet for drinking water, and 3 tmc feet for industries, totalling 106 tmc feet. However, the state is only left with 50 tmc feet of water, with a primary focus on providing drinking water.

Reacting to the development, Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) leader and former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai criticised the state government for lack of coordination and delay in seeking legal advice on the Cauvery water issue. He said that talking to legal experts should have been done long ago.

Talking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said, “There was no coordination between the chief minister and the deputy chief minister. The lack of coordination between the home minister and top brass of the department had been established. The state has now initiated a legal battle. The work of talking to legal experts should have been done long ago. At least now, the government must honestly fight the case and see to it that no anti-state orders are issued in the coming days.”

The former chief minister also said the government must have held talks with legal luminaries and farmers. “It should have consulted a former chief justice of the Supreme Court, justice Shivraj Patil in regard to land, water and borders of Karnataka. There are other legal experts with whom the government should have held talks,” Bommai said.