The A.B. Vajpayee government could not but have sought an adjournment of the hearing in the Cauvery river water case. The alternative of notifying the interim award of the Cauvery river water dispute tribunal would have set the Cauvery on fire.The adamant position Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have taken, as underscored by the memoranda submitted to the Prime Minister by the MPs from these states, virtually tied the government's hands. In the given situation what the government desperately needed was some more time to sort out the issue.Though it has got it till August 12, the apex court has also warned that "no further time would be granted on this issue". This is in the fitness of things as the government cannot run away from its constitutional responsibility in matters of inter-state dispute.To be fair to the BJP government, the Cauvery problem is not of its making. It is an inheritance. But that is no excuse for glossing over the injustice involved in not implementing the tribunal's award to release205 tmc ft of water annually to Tamil Nadu, given as far back as seven years ago. In the face of defiance by Karnataka, the Centre thought discretion was the better part of valour and sought adjournment after adjournment of the hearing in court. Surely such evasive tactics do not redound to the credit of the government.The BJP government now plans to call a meeting of the chief ministers of the two states to find an amicable solution. However hopeful such an attempt may be, it cannot be oblivious to the political factors that impede a solution. AIADMK leader J. Jayalalitha has pounced on the Cauvery issue not because the farmers in her state are terribly short of water for irrigation in these days of torrential rains.Having failed to dislodge the Karunanidhi government, she sought to warn the government about her destructive potential. Such being the case, it is unlikely that Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi will make any compromise on the state's stand in the full knowledge that Jayalalitha will exploitit to politically finish him. The emotive nature of the issue does not give him much leeway.Nor is his Karnataka counterpart J.H. Patel in any position to make a compromise. The moment he is seen to vacillate, the Karnataka unit of the BJP itself would be the first to seek his ouster. Caught in the crossfire of political one-upmanship in the two states is the poor Vajpayee government which, by its very nature, cannot take a bold stand. Besides, it has a constituency of its own in Karnataka to satisfy. And to worsen its plight, Kerala too has given notice of its desire to be heard in the matter.The complicated nature of the dispute does not, however, mean that no attempt should be made to resolve it. River water dispute tribunals are set up to tackle such disputes. If their awards are not satisfactory, it is for the Centre to bring the parties concerned to the negotiating table to find a mutually acceptable solution. In any case petty politics should not be allowed to cloud such decisions. In the presentinstance, the government was not overawed by the ultimatum given by Jayalalitha. Such sternness will certainly stand the government in good stead. But this degree of determination should also be shown in enforcing the tribunal's award.
