Karnataka could have got more Cauvery water with better legal plan: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrasekhar today said if Karnataka had planned its legal strategy better in the early stages, it could have got an increased share of Cauvery river water in the Supreme Court judgement. He said that Karnataka depended far more on the river for agriculture than neighbouring Tamil Nadu with which it had been engaged in a legal battle.
He, however, termed the apex court judgement on the Cauvery river water dispute as fair to Karnataka, despite "inept handling" of the issue. "From early reading of the judgement of the SC, it seems to be fair to Karnataka despite inept handling of the case by the Siddaramaiah government in the early stages, which was reversed because of severe criticism from people," he added. The ruling of the Supreme Court that ownership of the river vests with no state means the days of politics around water sharing is near over, Chandrasekhar told PTI in an email. "This water dispute has been used by a number of politicians to build careers by fanning the fear and insecurity amongst farmers," he said. "This dispute navigated its way through courts, tribunals and Supreme Court. The professional water management by an independent board will ensure that there will no more of this type of politics," Chandrasekhar said. The judgement must mark a real change in how the people of Karnataka and Bengaluru look at the issue of water security, especially when the city's traditional water sources are being "callously destroyed by an apathetic government machinery," Chandrasekhar said. "I hope now a realisation grows that water is even more now a finite resource and that a new culture of management and conservation of water will emerge focusing on rebuilding and recharging our lakes and ground water in Namma Bengaluru," he said.

The Supreme Court today raised the 270 tmcft share of Cauvery water for Karnataka by 14.75 tmcft and reduced Tamil Nadu's share while compensating it by allowing extraction of 10 tmcft groundwater from the river basin, saying the issue of drinking water has to be placed on a "higher pedestal".