Kumaraswamy accuses Karnataka Govt of mishandling Cauvery water dispute

New Delhi/Bengaluru, Aug 12 (IANS) Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, H.D. Kumaraswamy on Wednesday alleged that the Karnataka government had mishandled the Cauvery water dispute and kept the state’s legal experts in the dark.

He accused the state government of failing to make adequate preparations to protect Karnataka’s interests.

Addressing an emergency press conference in New Delhi, Kumaraswamy alleged that senior lawyers representing Karnataka before the Supreme Court and various Cauvery authorities and committees were not being treated with due respect by the state government.

He referred to claims that senior advocate Mohan Katarki was not provided a chair during a meeting of Karnataka MPs convened by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi and subsequently left the meeting. Kumaraswamy also alleged that legal experts were not given adequate importance during the all-party meeting held later at the Krishna office in Bengaluru.

“When such meetings are convened, the legal and technical aspects should be placed before the participants. The Chief Minister should have sought the views of the legal experts at the beginning of the meeting. Ignoring legal experts in this manner shows a lack of foresight and preparation,” he said.

Kumaraswamy alleged that the Karnataka government had completely failed in managing the Cauvery water crisis, while Tamil Nadu had remained alert and was taking advantage of Karnataka’s lapses.

He pointed out that both the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) had recommended that Karnataka release 12,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.

According to Kumaraswamy, Tamil Nadu had moved before the Cauvery authorities as early as May, while Karnataka was expected to begin releasing water from June. He alleged that instead of strengthening the state’s legal fight, the Chief Minister had advised farmers in the Cauvery and Krishna basin regions against taking up water-intensive crops.

“The loss was suffered by our farmers. Even crops that had already been cultivated were lost due to lack of water,” he said.

Kumaraswamy also questioned the state government’s preparedness to deal with the Cauvery crisis and asked what steps it had taken to formulate a distress-sharing formula.

He pointed out that no final order had so far been issued by the Supreme Court on a distress formula and alleged that Karnataka should have actively pressed for one before the Cauvery authorities.

“D.K. Shivakumar was the Water Resources Minister for three years before becoming Chief Minister. What was he doing during that period?” Kumaraswamy questioned.

Taking a political swipe at Shivakumar, Kumaraswamy alleged that the Chief Minister was giving greater priority to Cabinet expansion and portfolio allocation than to the Cauvery issue.

“Leaving the Cauvery issue aside, they are waiting at the gates of the houses of Mallikarjun Kharge, K.C. Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala,” he alleged, accusing Shivakumar of prioritising internal Congress politics over Karnataka’s interests.

Kumaraswamy further alleged that Tamil Nadu was advancing its interests through both administrative and legal means while the Karnataka government was “sleeping.”

He also questioned the government’s claim that it would transparently decide how much water should be released to Tamil Nadu while keeping the interests of Karnataka’s farmers in mind.

“Does transparency mean releasing water to Tamil Nadu? If water is released because there has been rainfall and inflows into the reservoirs have increased, what will happen in the coming days?” he asked.

Kumaraswamy urged the state government to prepare for possible legal and administrative moves by Tamil Nadu, saying Karnataka should anticipate the neighbouring state’s actions instead of responding only after a crisis emerges.

Kumaraswamy urged the government to avoid yielding to pressure from the neighbouring state and to make adequate preparations to deal with the water dispute.

“Do not wait for a crisis to prepare. Take the necessary precautionary measures and do not repeat the mistakes made so far,” he said.

MP M. Mallesh Babu, MLA Samruddhi Manjunath and senior JD(S) leader from Vijayapura district B.D. Patil were among those present at the press conference.

–IANS

mka/rad