Also, legal experts pointed out that Karnataka can not pass any legislation on river disputes as such an attempt, made by a government headed by the then Chief Minister S. Bangarappa in 1991 to nullify the interim award passed by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, was struck down by the Supreme Court holding that State’s have no right to make law on inter-State rivers.
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Siddaramaiah has said the state cabinet has requested governor VR Vala to convene both the Houses on Friday to further discuss the matter. “The court has not considered our sincerity but again directed (us) to release more water (6,000 cusecs) daily for another week, which is impossible”, Parameshwara told reporters here.
In the first instance it wanted Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of water and subsequently it brought it down to 12,000 cusecs per day even after the Cauvery Supervisory Committee had recommended release of only 3000 cusecs at the Biligundlu point.
Police sources said the footage from the arson site also shows other women, but it is not clear if they played an active role in the vandalism.
Already bucking under the pressure of a drinking water shortage, whether Karnataka will be able to discharge its obligation under the order remains to be seen.
The committee had asked the Karnataka government to provide water to Tamil Nadu for ten days between September 21-30 but the court refused to accept the committee’s report.
A special bench of Justices Dipak Misra and U.U. Lalit passed the directive while questioning the “adjudicating” authority of the supervisory committee that had yesterday asked Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs of water a day till September 30.
The water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu dates back to the latter half of the 19th century.
Senior BJP leaders from Karnataka state have said that it is wrong to ask Modi to intervene in the dispute since the Cauvery issue is before the Supreme court.
Senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, appearing for Tamil Nadu, also opposed the directions, saying the supervisory committee has not considered all aspects while passing the order.
“The government is committed to protect the interest of the state, its people and its farmers”.
Following the apex court’s order, security has been intensified and vigil stepped up across the state, especially in the river basin to maintain law and order and prevent any untoward incident.
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A big push for the government’s position came from former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, who attended an all-party meeting that the BJP boycotted. The minister, however, said the legal team will continue its fight by seeking modification of the top court’s order to release 6,000 cusecs. He later apologized and released water.
