Cauvery Authority Not Acceptable, Says Karnataka

Karnataka yesterday told Prime Minister I K Gujral that the Centres proposal for establishment of a Cauvery River Authority to oversee implementation of the interim award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal was patently premature and therefore not acceptable.

Led by Chief Minister J H Patel, an all party delegation presented a memorandum to the Prime Minister, registering the states strong protest against the regulatory authority, mooted as a body to implement the June 1991 interim award of 205 tmc ft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

The delegation told the Prime Minister that Karnataka was of the firm opinion that the scheme was neither in conformity with the spirit of interim award nor in terms of the Supreme Court observations in April and felt such an authority with enormous and arbitrary powers was at all called for.

At an hour-long meeting with the delegation, the Prime Minister held out an assurance that the government would approach the Cauvery dispute in an impartial manner to ensure that the problem was resolved with equity and justice.

Gujral also told the delegation that he would have to consult Tamil Nadu and other parties to resolve the dispute which he described as very complex.

Later addressing a press conference, Patel and deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said they had requested the Prime Minister to ask the attorney general to place the relevant facts before the Supreme Court and seek defferment of such a scheme till Karnatakas pending application for modification of the interim award was disposed off by the tribunal.

As of today the scheme is not acceptable to us, the Chief Minister said making it clear that it was left to the Centre to either withdraw, modify or amend the proposed the scheme.

He said that Karnataka had put the ball in the Prime Ministers court and it was left to the Centre to hold talks with the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for an amicable settlement of the dispute. The Chief Minister said Karnataka had enough ground to back its claim before the tribunal as well as the courts.

Asked whether the state government was planning an agitation to oppose the scheme, the Chief Minister said we are not thinking on such lines.