Scheme not referred to Statute bench: Nage Gowda

BANGALORE, Aug 14: Karnataka's Irrigation Minister K N Nage Gowda on Thursday denied that the notification on the Cauvery Scheme formulat...

BANGALORE, Aug 14: Karnataka’s Irrigation Minister K N Nage Gowda on Thursday denied that the notification on the Cauvery Scheme formulated by the Centre to give effect to the interim award of the Cauvery Water Tribunal, had been referred to a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court.

Denying media reports in a section of the press, he told media persons here, that he had been directed by the Advocate General to clarify the matter. What had been referred to a Constitution Bench however, was the original suit filed by the Tamil Nadu Government asking the apex court to direct the Centre to implement the interim award of the Cauvery tribunal, he said.

EXPEDITE FINAL AWARD: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has made it clear that he wanted to expedite the final decision of the Cauvery Water Tribunal, said Karnataka’s Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M C Nanaiah here on Thursday. The minister said that while the State had agreed to the Centre’s scheme for implementing the interim award, it hadalso filed an application in court for the speedy disposal of the hearings before the Cauvery Water Tribunal. The Tribunal has already held two sittings since the petition for an expeditious decision.

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He meanwhile dismissed the Congress charge that the state had sold out to the Centre by sacrificing state interest while agreeing to the scheme for setting up a monitoring committee.

Denying that the committee was a regulatory one, he said it was only a political forum constituted to assist the Cauvery Regulatory Authority set up to implement the interim tribunal award.

Criticising State Congress leaders for their political motive in condemning a decision to which they were a party, he said it was similar to AIADMK leader J Jayalalitha’s opposition based on the fact that the state Chief Minister K Karunanidhi had agreed to it. They both (Jayalalitha and Congress) want to “politicise the issue” he said.

Terming it “political immaturity” he said the “political perception of these people is wrong”.Chief Minister J H Patel he said, had consulted the opposition at every stage and had conveyed the joint decision to the Prime Minister. All senior Congress leaders from the state including Jaffer Sharief, Veerappa Moily and Dharam Singh besides H K Patil had been taken into confidence, he said.

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Rebutting some of the Congress charges, he said the state had not agreed to release 205 TMC ft of water to Tamil Nadu as directed in the interim award of the Cauvery Tribunal. Moreover, during distress season there was provision under the current agreement, for the aggrieved party to approach the Cauvery Regulatory Authority, he said.

Also the monitoring committee was not only meant to give effect to the interim award of the Tribunal, but all subsequent orders of the Tribunal as well. These included the clarificatory orders of 1992 and 1995 made against Karnataka’s appeal. The state had also opposed the provision in the interim award restricting Karnataka’s share of land to be brought under irrigation to just 11.2lakh hectares. Therefore all “these things are not there before the Cauvery Regulatory Authority” he added.

Jaffer Sharief and Dharam Singh were all party to the decision since these issues had been discussed with them as well. “HK Patil too is aware of this,” he said, adding that these leaders “should not politicise the Cauvery issue” in this manner.