The sharing of waters of the Kaveri has been the source of
a serious conflict between the States of
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The genesis of this conflict, rests in
two agreements—one signed in 1892 and
another in 1924—between the erstwhile Madras Presidency and Princely State
of Mysore
நடந்தாய் வாழி காவேரி, நடந்தாய் வாழி காவேரி ;
நாடெங்குமே செழிக்க நன்மையெல்லாம்
சிறக்க…..
All that is history –
continued failing monsoons; improper distribution of Cauvery water over
the years have ensured that the rice bowl is no longer the greenery it once
was. For about 17 lakh farmers of the
Cauvery basin districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Trichy and Nagapattinam, the
water from the river is their lifeline. They solely depend on Cauvery water to
raise three rounds of crops – Kuruvai, Samba and Thaladi. There are reports of
even suicidal deaths of farmers.
More politics has flown under the bridge than real water…..
the last year was another one of inaction.
On 19 Sep 2012, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh , who is also the Chairman
of the Cauvery River Authority, directed Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of
Kaveri water to Tamil Nadu at Biligundlu;
but Karnataka defied stating that
this was impractical due to the drought conditions prevailing because of the
failed monsoon. Karnataka then walked out of the high level meeting as a sign
of protest. On 21 September, Karnataka filed a petition before the Cauvery
River Authority seeking review of its 19 September ruling. So another legal
battle continued without any telling results.
On 28 Sep 2012, the Supreme Court slammed the Karnataka government for
failing to comply with the directive of the Cauvery River Authority. Left with
no other option, Karnataka started releasing water. This led to wide protests
and violence in Karnataka. There was bandh in Karnataka and TN CM sought to file a
contempt petition against the Karnataka government for flouting the verdict of
the Supreme Court by unilaterally stopping the release of water to Tamil Nadu.
On 6 December, the supreme court directed Karnataka to release 10,000 cusecs of
water to Tamil Nadu. The court asked the union government to indicate the time
frame within which the final decision of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal,
which was given in February 2007, was to be notified. That
the decision is yet to be notified…. makes a sad reading indeed.
This week, with a
view to assessing Tamil Nadu’s claim on the condition of the standing
crops, the Supreme Court on Monday directed the Central Water Commission (CWC)
Chairman to appoint an experts committee of three members to visit the Cauvery
delta region of Thiruvarur, Thanjavur and Nagapattinam districts and submit a
report to it latest by February 6. A
Bench of Justices R.M. Lodha, J. Chelameswar and Madan B. Lokur gave this
direction following disputed claims by Tamil Nadu and Karnataka on the standing
crops’ condition in Tamil Nadu.
The court said, “There is a conflicting stand of Tamil Nadu
and Karnataka on the standing crops. According to Tamil Nadu, as of today, 6
lakh acres of its delta region are under single samba paddy crop. Three lakh
acres of this will require two wetting and the remaining one wetting and in
all, the water requirement for this crop is 9 tmcft. In the affidavit filed by
Karnataka today, it is stated that about 40% of the area has already been
harvested. In the 50% of the area, the crop is ready for harvest. As regards
remaining 10% of the area, it is stated that it is at the stage of
physiological maturity and even in this area no water is required as the crop
is in maturity stage.” Earlier, senior
counsel C.S. Vaidyanathan, appearing for Tamil Nadu, told the court that
Karnataka’s claim for drinking water supply, including the requirement of
Bangalore city as 23 tmcft was highly inflated and excessive.
This week an on-the-spot assessment of the crop condition
in parts of the Cauvery delta districts of Tamil Nadu was made by a three-member expert team constituted by the
Central Water Commission. IENS reports
that the committee is said to have
stated that the total water requirement for the delta crops is 2.44 tmcft. The
team submitted its report to the apex court on Wednesday after a day-long
survey in Thiruvarur, Thanjavur and Nagapattanam districts. In its report, the
team is said to have stated that about 10 per cent of the area (about one lakh
acres) alone needed watering. The area that required two and one wettings were
pegged at 55,000 acres and 45,000 acres, respectively.
The matter is set to come up before the Supreme Court on
Thursday. The court had on Monday already directed Tamil Nadu to release 2 TMC
of water from its Mettur reservoir for its standing crops and assured that
Karnataka would compensate it by releasing Cauvery water to that extent. SC had also directed the Centre to notify the
final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) dated February 5,
2007. It rapped the government for abdicating its responsibility in not
notifying the award as per the mandate of the Inter State River Water Disputes
Act. When Additional Solicitor General
Harin P. Raval sought further time for the Centre to decide whether to notify
the ‘final decision’ or not, a Bench of Justices R.M. Lodha, J. Chelameswar and
Madan B. Lokur rejected the plea. The court ordered the government to notify
the final award on or before February 20.
The Court condemned the situation stating that the Centre
is not there to facilitate an agreement between the parties when they
themselves have told this court that they have no objection for notifying the
award. The Bench, in its brief order,
said: “The final decision was given by the CWDT on February 5, 2007. The final
decision has not been notified so far. On January 4, 2013, this court noted the
agreement of concerned States that they did not have any objection to the final
decision by CWDT being notified without prejudice to their rights and
contentions raised in the pending appeals. This court also noted the statement
of Mr. H.P. Raval, Additional Solicitor General that the final decision by the
Central government for publication is expected by January 31, 2013.”
The farmers of Tamil Nadu have been patiently waiting for
notification and more for the release of water which alone could save the crops
which are the lifeline for the very subsistence of the delta farmers.
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
7th Feb 2013.
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