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Cauvery panel to meet on July 2 despite Karnataka’s dissent on composition
Despite objections raised by the Karnataka government about the composition of the Cauvery water management authority, the Centre has summoned all member states for a meeting in New Delhi on July 2.
Despite objections raised by the Karnataka government about the composition of the Cauvery water management authority (CWMA), the Centre has summoned all member states for a meeting in New Delhi on July 2.
This will be the first meeting of the authority after its constitution was notified earlier this month. Central water commission chairman S Masood Hussain has been appointed as the chairman of CWMA.
The authority comprises a chairman and eight members besides a secretary. Of the eight members, two each will be full-time and part-time, while the remaining four would be representatives of the riparian states and will be part-time members.
Sources in the ministry of water resources said that Karnataka is not happy with the CWMA’s composition and is considering a legal recourse. Confirming the meeting, Hussain said, all the members are expected to attend the meet.
“Notices have been sent to all the members and all the state governments and we expect everyone to attend,’’ Hussain said.
Reports from Karnataka have suggested that the state government has called the centre’s decision to notify the constitution of the CWMA and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) as “unilateral”.
The HD Kumaraswamy government has decided to call an all-party meeting by the end of this week, they said. In a meeting headed by the CM on Monday, the government of Karnataka had consulted legal and water resources experts on the issue.
Water resources minister of Karnataka DK Shivakumar, however, told reporters in Bengaluru on Monday that the state had lodged a protest in the letter that contained the nomination of its officials for the two bodies.
It is believed that Kumaraswamy had conveyed the state’s objections to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a meet with him on June 18 . The ministry’s June 2 notification had informed of the scheme to constitute of the two bodies to give effect to the decision of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal as modified by a Supreme Court order. The scheme is coming up for cabinet approval on Wednesday.
