And Turbulent Flows The Cauvery

The Cauvery water dispute has been hanging fire for over a century. The latest agreement between the contending states Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to set up an additional gauging centre at Biligondlu, on the border of the two states to monitor the flow of Cauvery waters into Tamil Nadu is a positive development.

The Central Water Commission has been entrusted with the task of monitoring flow. The agreement between the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka raises new hopes for the amicable solution of the dispute. Ironically, the agreement has been reached to safeguard the interests of the farmers of both the states.

The genesis of water disputes in India lies in the inadequate retention of rainwater. The disputes over the sharing of waters between the riparian states, where the rivers cross more than one state, have a long history. In recent years, the river water disputes have been exploited by politicians to serve their narrow ends, all in the name of protecting farmers interest a typical Kafkaesque situation.

The Krishna-Godavari water dispute concern three states Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh while the Cauvery dispute involves Karnataka and Tamil Nadu; Kerala became a party to it after the reorganisation of states in 1956.

Inter-state water disputes are not typical to India; many countries have had to contend with them. In India, there were a few attempts to resolve water disputes through legislation, such as the Government of India Act, 1935, the Inter-State Water Disputes Act and the River Boards Act, 1956.

These acts have their limitations since they are ruled more by emotion than economic logic. Water is a key input in both food production and hydro-electricity generation. Therefore, control over it assumes political overtones.

M V V Ramana, in his book