'Do not set up CMB till civil pleas are disposed'

With the Centre notifying the final award of the Cauvery Waters Dispute Tribunal, Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar on Wednesday said unless the civil appeals are disposed of by the Supreme Court, the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) should not be set up, even as protests broke out in some parts of the state following the development.

“The Central Government should not set up CMB unless the civil appeals in the matter are disposed of by the Supreme Court,” he told reporters here when asked about the notification of the final award.

After the issuance of the notification, institutions like the Cauvery River Authority chaired by the Prime Minister and the CMC will cease to exist and new organisations like the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee will be constituted. Shettar said two days ago an all-party delegation from the state met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and requested him not to notify the proposed final award. The government also wrote two letters to Prime Minister explaining the likely adverse effects of the central government notifying the final award, he said.

Shettar said under the rules of the Tribunal, there is no provision for CMB to be constituted immediately. “It has to be brought into Parliament and need to be discussed on the floor of the House,” he said. The Prime Minister had assured the delegation that he would take a decision after seeking legal advice from the Law Ministry, Shettar said. Meanwhile, members of Kannada outfit, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, staged protests in Mysore, Mandya and Bangalore protesting the notification of the final award. KRV activists barged into railway stations at Mysore and Bangalore. Police detained them as a precautionary measure, sources said.

While Tamil Nadu had been demanding an early notification, Karnataka was opposed to it saying till the times cases filed by it in the Supreme Court are settled, the notification should be kept in abeyance.

Opposition Leader in the State Assembly Siddaramaiah blamed the ruling BJP government’s mistakes for the present development on the Cauvery issue. He said the award will be detrimental to the interests of Karnataka farmers, especially those living in Cauvery basin. Siddaramaiah alleged that the government gave an undertaking in the apex court that it had no objection for the notification of the proposed final award.