Karnataka to appeal against Cauvery Management Board order, Kumaraswamy says some schemes ‘unscientific’

The Karnataka government has decided to appeal against the Supreme Court decision to form a Cauvery management board for the distribution of river water between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The same was confirmed on Saturday by Congress leader DK Shivakumar.

Speaking to news agency ANI, the senior Congress leader termed the decision as “not in best interest” of Karnataka. He said, “Supreme Court's judgement was not in best interest of the state. We are appealing against it. Earlier, we had decided we won't send any representative to any committee meeting but now we cannot take any risk. We don't want them to make any decision without us.”

The sentiments were echoed by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said that while the JDS-Congress government would abide by all constitutional decisions, it will also fight against two-three issues where “schemes were for unscientifically”.

Kumaraswamy told reporters, “Karnataka will always abide by constitutional decisions. We've always respected Supreme Court and its directions. There are 2-3 issues where schemes were formed unscientifically, for which we'll fight.”

In May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre had presented a draft proposal to the Supreme Court outlining the water sharing between Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. "We need to examine whether the said scheme is in consonance with our judgment," the SC bench, consisting of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, had said in response to the draft proposal.

On February 16, the Supreme Court, in a significant verdict to resolve the decades-old Cauvery river water dispute, increased Karnataka's quota by 14.75 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft), taking it to to 270 tmcft. It reduced Tamil Nadu's share to 404.25 tmcft, while allowing it to extract 10 tmcft of groundwater from the river basin.

The Supreme Court ordered the Centre to set up the Cauvery Management Board (CMB), and had given it six weeks to do so. That deadline lapsed at the end of March, with the Centre seeking extensions. 

On May 8, the SC warned the Centre that it was in "sheer contempt" of the February 16 verdict by not framing the Cauvery management scheme on river water sharing between the four southern riparian states till now.

(With PTI Inputs)