Perennial river dispute

Long before the DMK-BJP alliance was forged, even when the two parties were actually in opposing political camps, M. Karunanidhi publicly acknowledged two 8220;achievements8221; of the Atal Behari Vajpayee government: Pokharan II and the 8220;historic8221; Cauvery accord. The second claim, more stridently made in the post-alliance poll campaign, sounds silly indeed as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka brace for a stale repetition of the history of a bitter riparian dispute. It is all back to square one as Tamil Nadu demands, once again, the immediate implementation of an eight-year-old interim award of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal and, predictably, Karnataka pleads practical inability to comply. The Thanjavur farmers await their promised annual allowance of 205 tmc feet of water for their allegedly withering kuruvai8217; crops, even as J. H. Patel and his ministers blame the poor rains and bemoan the plight of the peasants on their side. It is a scenario that has recurred with greater regularity than a good monsoon. What8217;s newis a Cauvery River Authority, set up with much fanfare just over a year ago, which has been a helpless observer till now of the utterly unexciting drama. Jayalalitha8217;s and Mani Shankar Aiyar8217;s I-told-you-so utterances might be annoying. The reaction of the AIADMK and the rest of the Tamil Nadu Opposition may reveal a regret about the row not erupting before the elections. The fact, however, remains that the august CRA, with the Prime Minister at the helm and four chief ministers as its members, is a fiasco. That it is time to think of a better and more basic solution than a prime ministerial charisma expected to prevail over chief ministerial churlishness on the rainless day.

The most frequently heard criticism of the Authority is that it lacks statutory authority. The toothless body, critics scoff, cannot enforce the tribunal award which even a Supreme Court ruling could not. Two points need to be made in this regard. The first is that the award cannot be enforced merely through statutory means, withoutthe process being helped politically on all sides. From the days of S. Bangarappa as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, when the state rejected the award, it is political resistance that has been putting off a Cauvery solution. All the more so for purblind regionalist bellicosity on the issue cutting across party barriers. The second point is that even the implementation of the interim award, at the CRA8217;s reluctant intervention and with the assistance of its technical committee, will not settle the issue.

The Prime Minister may indeed succeed in saving the situation. Political diplomacy may prevent the states from prolonging the stalemate. It is even possible that rains over the coming days will solve the problem for this season. It will still be wisdom for the four states including Kerala and Pondicherry which, too, have stakes in the issue and the Centre to try and work out, say, a percentage formula as suggested by some for the sharing of any available amount of water. A package solution, includingbetter water management schemes, merits multi-state pursuit. There is no reason, either, why a change in crop patterns should not be attempted as too challenging a proposition, if it involves no damage to the farmers8217; interests. Cauvery should not, and need not, be a river of perennial discord.