Cauvery clash: 'Tribunal, SC must take experts' advice

Bengaluru

The Interstate River Water Disputes Act provides for two technical consultants to assist the judges. But the Honourable Supreme Court thought they were wise enough to settle all technical issues, which are more than 100 years old; they took every decision upon themselves. Probably the mistake happened there,” Captain Raja Rao, a veteran in the field of water disputes, said. Speaking at an event organised by the Advocates Association of Karnataka on Thursday, Rao said there is a lacuna in the present tribunal order.

“The present tribu nal order is for posterity! There is no review clause in the tribunal order. Can such a thing happen? So, as an expert in this field who has worked on the Cauvery, Krishna, and Mahadayi — all water disputes in Karnataka —I definitely feel there is a lacuna in this. We may have to think of finding a legal solution to it,” he said. He also batted for the Mekedatu project to store river water for Karnataka, stating that the Karna taka government has all the necessary approvals to proceed.

“We need big reservoirs like Mettur, or one or two with half its capacity, so the entire solution would be sound. When we go for Mekedatu, the Tamil Nadu government objects to the building of the dam,” he said, going on to add: “What I want to impress upon all of you, and even Tamil Nadu, is that in 1924 the British government itself approved it. It is a the lack of water. He also condemned the diversion of much of the available water to Bengaluru, stating that the city’s needs should be balanced with those of farmers and rural areas, especially where there is public document; it has been produced before the tribunal as Article 284.

Parliament has also said that there is no need for any other state’s permission to build this project.” He then appealed to the advocates present to take up the issue and ask the Supreme Court to monitor the workings of the water disputes tri bunal for the benefit of citizens. The other speaker at the event was K. Boriah, senior vice-president of the Mandya Raitha Hitha Rakshana Samiti, who spoke at length about the struggles of farmers in various districts due to a water deficit. “We farmers have to protest, we have to speak for citizens; the govern ment won’t do anything,” Boriah said. Both speakers agreed that the courts and governments must look deeper into the issue and build lasting solutions to the dispute, which is causing great harm to citizens.