Storm in troubled waters

‘‘It is essential that we reach a suitable settlement acceptable to all. It is necessary that distress is shared equitably so that no specific region suffers excessively,’’ Singh assured the delegation of MPs, who united on the issue cutting across party lines.

Petroleum and Natural Gas and Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said: ‘‘Quite clearly, the Prime Minister has a fine grasp of the issues confronting the state. We now expect the kind of attention that the Prime Minister as chairman of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) will give, unlike in the past,’’ Aiyar said.

He said the delegation demanded emergency water supply to TN, sustaining the inflow of water for the kuruvai crop; time-bound meetings of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) and work on the distress-sharing formula. Aiyer said it was ironic that though the interim-award was announced within a month of CRA being set up, 13 years later, the final award was yet to surface.

Senior DMK leader Durai Murugan, who led the delegation today, said the Prime Minister assured the delegation that he would try to persuade Karnataka to release water to Tamil Nadu for the benefit of Cauvery delta farmers.

In the memorandum submitted to the PM, the MPs said that ever since the announcement of the Cauvery Tribunal Interim Award in 1991, Karnataka had never fully implemented the award, leading to complete halt of all agricultural activity and heavy losses across the Cauvery delta region in Tamil Nadu.

‘‘The practice in Tamil Nadu is to release water from the Mettur Dam for cultivation on June 12 every year, but Karnataka had not released water as per the tribunal award and this year too, the release of water on June 12 seemed nearly impossible,’’ the memorandum said. The signatories include Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Shipping Minister T.R. Baalu, Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran and Environment Minister A. Raja.

‘‘There is no question of releasing water at the moment. Even our farmers are in distress,’’ state Industries and Infrastructure Minister P.G.R. Sindhia said after a Cabinet meeting. He said he was confident that the state government could resist the pressure to release water mounted by the DMK which has become powerful at the Centre. Sindhia stressed that ‘‘there has been no communication to the state government from the Centre on releasing Cauvery water’’.

A delegation led by Union Minister T.R. Baalu will hold talks with Chief Minister Dharam Singh and Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the Minister said.