The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Almost a replica of interim award, says Nanje Gowda

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Almost a replica of interim award, says Nanje Gowda

Special Correspondent

H.N. Nanje Gowda

BANGALORE: The former irrigation Minister H.N. Nanje Gowda, who is an expert in matters related to irrigation, has stated that the final award of the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal is "suicidal for Karnataka farmers" and urged the Government to file a review petition before the tribunal.

Mr. Nanje Gowda told The Hindu that the final award was almost a replica of the interim award, which had done injustice to Karnataka.

Groundwater

He expressed dissatisfaction over the final award not considering the groundwater availability in Tamil Nadu. He pointed out that though the United Nations Development Programme had assessed the availability of groundwater in that State at 150 tmcft, Tamil Nadu had said the availability was only around 45 tmcft. Even if this figure was considered, Karnataka's burden of releasing 192 tmcft to Tamil Nadu would have been reduced by nearly 50 tmcft, he said.

There was no option but to seek a review of the final award, he argued.

BJP national general secretary H.N. Ananth Kumar too observed that the final award was a disappointment to the State and urged the Government to file a review petition to provide justice to its farmers.

K.S. Puttanaiah

At the same time, he appealed to people of the state to maintain the peace.

`Worrying development'

Farmers' organisations have expressed reservations over the final award of the tribunal.

Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) president K.S. Puttannaiah termed the award a worrying development. He said it had caused concern among farmers of the Cauvery basin in the State who had hoped that justice would be provided to them.

Kabini Farmers' Association president Kurubur Shanthakumar termed the report one-sided and observed that it would not help the State's farmers. He alleged that the tribunal members were divided in their views on various issues. "That being the case, how can we get justice from the tribunal," he wondered.

Though the award had gone against Karnataka, farmers should not become emotional. They should make concrete efforts to get justice by exploring ways of getting a proper share of water, he said.

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