Chief minister J. Jayalalithaa on Thursday renewed her request to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to convene forthwith a meeting of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) and also advise Karnataka to release water to Tamil Nadu for raising the Samba crop in the Cauvery basin.
“I wish to bring to your notice that the government of Karnataka has not released any water from its reservoirs during the irrigation year 2012-2013, while it has opened the reservoir for its irrigation.
However, Mettur dam could not be opened till date due to the reluctance of the government of Karnataka even to share minimum flows,” Ms Jayalalithaa said in a letter to Mr Singh.
As per the interim order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, as on August 23, 2012, Mettur dam should have realised 95.480 tmcft against which only a meagre quantity of 9.187 tmcft has been realised.
Further, according to the distress sharing formula evolved by the Central Water Commission, Mettur dam should have realised about 43.837 tmcft as on August 23, she said.
Farmers in the Cauvery delta, having lost the Kuruvai crop, are hoping at least to raise one single Samba crop for their livelihood.
“It is, therefore, imperative that the government of Karnataka is advised to release water to make good the shortfall quantity as per the distress sharing formula and also to share the flows in this distress situation,” the chief minister urged.
Referring to her earlier letter of May 15, Ms Jayalalithaa stated that here earlier request was “yet to be acceded to.”
She also referred to the interlocutory application filed by the state government before the Supreme Court in July seeking a direction to the Union of India to convene a meeting of the CRA with the apex court seeking Central government’s views in the matter.
Ms Jayalalithaa said without prejudice to the pending proceedings in the Supreme Court, the Prime Minister as the chairperson may convene a meeting of the CRA and adopt the distress sharing formula as a situation of distress has now arisen in Tamil Nadu.
In the absence of unanimity or consensus, the decision of the Prime Minister as chairperson of CRA shall be decisive.