Tamil Nadu Creating Disputes “Unnecessarily”: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah On Cauvery Water Row

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India]: Amid the Cauvery-water sharing dispute, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said that the centre government has not given permission for Mekedatu Project and Tamil Nadu people are creating disputes unnecessarily.

In a series of tweets on X, Karnataka CM said “The BJP government at the centre has not given permission to the Mekedatu project and Tamil Nadu has no right to bring on dispute this project. 177.25 TMC water allocated to the state should be released to Tamil Nadu in normal years. It is said that in the time of hardship, the Sutra of hardship should be followed. But the people of Tamil Nadu are creating disputes unnecessarily.”

Siddaramaiah further said that Tamil Nadu BJP leaders should appeal to the Cauvery Water Management Authority to give permission to the Mekedatu project as it is under the central government.

“The state BJP leaders should appeal to the Cauvery Water Management Authority to give permission to the Mekedatu project as it is under the government at the centre @BJP4India. The state BJP said in the all-party meeting that they will cooperate with the state government on the Cauvery issue, and outside they are doing politics on the same issue,” Siddaramaiah added.

Karnataka CM also mentioned that the PM has not replied to a meeting of all parties so BJP MPs should get the meeting fixed with the PM.

“Providing drinking water to the people of Mysore and Bangalore districts is the first priority as per the water policy. In the meantime, the interests of the farmers should be protected. Tamil Nadu has filed a case in the Supreme Court and the government will make the state’s stand clear. No one should politicize the welfare of the farmers of the state for any reason.

In this matter, the Prime Minister’s time has been requested for the meeting of the all-party delegation, but no reply has been received from him, so let the state BJP MPs fix the time for the meeting with the Prime Minister,” Siddaramaiah said.

Earlier former Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai said that the Karnataka government needs to be firm in its stand and should stop sharing water with Tamil Nadu.

“There is hardly water in the backwaters of Cauvery. I think the govt has to be very firm, stop the water and see that they convince the Supreme Court and explain the pathetic condition of Karnataka and the excess use of water by Tamil Nadu,” Bommai said.

Earlier the Tamil Nadu government approached the Supreme Court seeking direction to Karnataka to release 24,000 cusecs of water daily per day from the reservoirs in Karnataka. Karnataka government also filed an affidavit opposing Tamil Nadu’s application saying that the application is based on an assumption that this year is the normal rainwater year.

The matter has been a controversial issue between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for decades and they have been locked in battle over the sharing of water from the Cauvery river, which is a major source of irrigation and drinking water for millions of people in the region.

The Centre formed the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) on June 2, 1990, to adjudicate disputes between Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Puducherry with respect to the water-sharing capacities.