Cauvery: Central team to visit TN, Karnataka

Amidst the raging water sharing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, a central team will visit the two states from tomorrow ahead of next week’s Cauvery Monitoring Committee meeting.

Sources in the government on Wednesday said a team led by Union water resources secretary DV Singh will visit Tamil Nadu tomorrow and Karnataka on Friday to get a first hand account of reservoir levels, standing crops and water flow. Singh is expected to return on Friday itself, while the other team members will stay on.

The visit will help the committee to take a call on the issue of release of water from Karnataka for Tamil Nadu after October 15. Recently, the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had directed Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs to TN between September 20 and Oct 15. The CRA had authorised the water resources secretary to decide on the amount of flow of water after October 15.

TN had demanded release of 24,000 cusecs of water, while the Supreme Court had asked Karnataka to release 10,000 cusecs. But the CRA, after hearing the views of both the states, awarded release of 9,000 cusecs.

On Karnataka’s demand to the CRA to review its decision, Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said here on Wednesday that the decision could only be reviewed after the meeting of the CRA, which also comprises chief ministers of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, besides representatives of the Centre. The next meeting of the CMC is slated for October 8, but Bansal refrained from confirming the date.