Bangalore, Karnataka - Karnataka's Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, convened a pivotal cabinet meeting on Wednesday, marking the second consecutive day of deliberations, aimed at charting the state's strategy in response to the directives from the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee. This committee had instructed the Karnataka government to release 5,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) of Cauvery river water to neighboring Tamil Nadu over the course of the next 15 days.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who also holds the Irrigation portfolio, joined the gathering, accompanied by other prominent cabinet members. The meeting commenced at noon, continuing the high-stakes discussions that began on Tuesday when CM Siddaramaiah swiftly called for an emergency cabinet meeting in response to the escalating Cauvery water-sharing issue.
Notably, Deputy CM Shivakumar is slated to engage in discussions with Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in the coming days, further underlining the seriousness of the Cauvery dispute.
On the preceding Tuesday, the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) issued a recommendation for the Karnataka government to release 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu over a 15-day period, starting from Wednesday. This directive followed the DMK government's demand for a more substantial allocation of 12,500 cusecs of water from Karnataka.
An official statement revealed that "DK Shivakumar will travel to Delhi to meet Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat after attending the cabinet meeting on Wednesday." CM Siddaramaiah, on his part, had voiced concerns on Monday, accusing the central government of delaying the clearance of the Mekedatu project and contending that Tamil Nadu was exacerbating unnecessary conflicts over the Cauvery issue.
Deputy CM Shivakumar echoed these sentiments by accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (Secular) of engaging in political maneuvering over the Cauvery water-sharing dispute.
In a contrasting viewpoint, former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai emphasized the need for the state government to stand firm and halt the sharing of Cauvery water with Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government took its grievances to the Supreme Court, seeking a mandate for Karnataka to release 24,000 cusecs of water daily from the reservoirs in Karnataka. In response, the Karnataka government submitted an affidavit opposing Tamil Nadu's plea, asserting that their petition rested on the presumption of normal rainfall patterns for the current year.
The Cauvery River has been a longstanding source of contention between the two states, serving as a critical resource for irrigation and drinking water needs. To address these disputes, the Central Government established the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) on June 2, 1990, with the mandate to arbitrate on water-sharing issues among Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Puducherry.
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