Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Ill-will over water sharing should end' that was published in Newsband

Ill-will over water sharing should end

The first meeting of the Cauvery Water Management Authority took place in a cordial atmosphere. The CWMA has been formed by the Centre. At its meeting on Monday, it asked Karnataka to release 31.24 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of water in July. The CWMA is expected to meet once every 10 days during the monsoon months. Therefore, the CWMA may not face any major problem in overseeing the release of water to Tamil Nadu. It is only in a distress year that the CWMA will face a significant challenge.

Karnataka is planning to challenge in the Supreme Court the Centre’s notification constituting the Authority. It will be unfortunate if this dispute gets into another round of litigation.

Now that the CWMA has become functional, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry should approach the issue of sharing the waters of the inter-State river in a spirit of cooperation and help the Authority in implementing the verdict. The parties concerned should leave behind the era of litigation.

So at last CWMA becomes functional. Mutually beneficial water sharing in scientific manner encourages good relationship development among the two major riparian states i.e., Karnataka and Tamil Nadu which was disrupted and took violent turn, in recent years. It shall act as Neutral Authority which is free from political encroachment.

BJP or PM Modi did play a role in setting up the Cauvery Water Authority. There was no need to float black balloons and ask the PM of a nation to go back, protesting for his anti-Tamil stance. Now that the Non-political mechanism Cauvery Panel, all Indian Water disputes should be left to non-political mechanism like this. Politics should be used to compete by presenting their intelligent solutions and plans for the uplift of the State or Country without affecting other States or Countries.

It is time Politics takes the back-seat and Socio-Techno system of discussion-arrangement takes center stage - where The Original Farm community leaders of all States must be represented. Let us STOP litigation and court proceedings - and get on with practical on-the-ground activities for all to get equi-distributed benefits

Thus it is heartening that at last CWMA has become functional. An ambience of non-political and scientific methodology on which CWMA functions is the least the riparian states would ever vouch for. The era of bickerings and ill-will between states over water sharing should end.

It is a good opening and the order to release 31.24 cm ft is really a boon to the Cauvery farmers in Tamil Nadu a lower riparian State. But the immediate objection from Karnataka and decision to move court manifests that there will be another judicial war between the States and how far Karnataka will abide the verdict if any to release water to Tamil Nadu is a million dollar question. Politicising the issue will never yield good results.