Bommai meets Karnataka’s legal team in Delhi to discuss water disputes

Expects to see progress in one week regards early settlement of cases pending in Supreme Court

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai chaired a meeting with Karnataka’s legal team and technical experts on inter-State river disputes in New Delhi, and discussed various cases before the Supreme Court related to water sharing and told the legal team to work for their speedy settlement.

Briefing mediapersons after the meeting, Mr. Bommai said the legal team has been asked to prepare a plan for early issue of a gazette notification by the Centre on sharing of Krishna river water. Telangana government filed a petition before the court seeking to resolve the dispute.

The legal team has been told to explain the State’s stand before the Supreme Court on the Mekedatu balancing reservoir project in the Cauvery Basin in Karnataka. The Tamil Nadu government has filed a petition in the court opposing the project.

A citizen has also filed a petition in a court in Madurai in Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka’s legal team has been told to argue the case to quash it since it has no locus standi.

Tamil Nadu has been opposing the Mekedatu project and unanimously passed a resolution urging the Union government not to accord permission to Karnataka for the Mekedatu balancing reservoir in the Cauvery basin.

Regarding Mahadayi river water sharing dispute, the Chief Minister said the case would come before the Supreme Court in September, and the team has been told to explain the main issues in the special leave petition.

The legal team and experts have been told to prepare a petition to submit to the Central government as well as the Supreme Court about the illegality of Tamil Nadu’s downstream interlinking river project.

Mr. Bommai said State Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi has been told to show progress made by the legal team in one week to ensure early settlement of pending cases in the Supreme Court.

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