Southern States - Karnataka   

Centre urged to take action against A.P. Govt.

By Our Special Correspondent

Bangalore June 25. Two former Karnataka Irrigation Ministers and senior leaders of the All-India Progressive Janata Dal, H.N. Nanje Gowda and K.N. Nage Gowda, have said the Union Government should take appropriate action against the Andhra Pradesh Government and, if need be, dismiss the Chandrababu Naidu Government as it had worked against the federal polity of the nation.

They told presspersons here today that the Andhra Pradesh Government had been `arm-twisting' the Union Government for the past few years, based on its political strength and ensured that all favours were showered on it at the cost of other State Governments. In particular, Karnataka had been compelled to yield to the dictates of Andhra Pradesh.

Andhra Pradesh had raised the Chitravati barrage issue only to ensure that the discussions on this subject could result in the postponement of the Centre constituting a tribunal to go into sharing the surplus Krishna waters.

The Supreme Court had directed the formation of a tribunal and as per the latest amendment to the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, the Centre has to constitute a tribunal within one year of an application being filed before it. Karnataka filed an application seeking the constitution of a tribunal in September last and the Centre was obliged to constitute it in two months, they said.

As per earlier estimations, the surplus water in the Krishna was around 350 tmcft but the latest reports indicated that the surplus water was over 600 tmcft. Andhra Pradesh was the only beneficiary of the surplus water and was consequently not in favour of the constitution of a tribunal. The nearly 10 unauthorised irrigation projects that it had constructed over the years were chiefly utilising the surplus water in the river, the two leaders charged.

Mr. Nanje Gowda hit out against the Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, and said he had no business to lead an all-party delegation to the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, to highlight the Chitravati issue which is nothing more than a drinking water scheme to serve the villages in and around Bagepalli. "The Centre is fully aware of the authorised and unauthorised irrigation projects whether they be in Andhra Pradesh or in Karnataka. Where then is the need for the Chief Minister to represent to the Centre which is more inclined to favour Andhra Pradesh?" The delegation comprised several elected representatives who were not even briefed on the State's stand before it called on the President and the Deputy Prime Minister. In the absence of the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, who was the sole authority in the matter, the trip by the delegation was a waste. Neither the President nor the Deputy Prime Minister was empowered to take any decision on such a sensitive issue.

They said Karnataka should refrain from attending the meeting of the experts committee called on Friday since all the issues likely to be discussed were already settled. The Upper Tunga Project had received all the clearances from the Central Water Commission over a period of 10 years commencing from 1993.

The Andhra Pradesh and the Tamil Nadu Governments had always adopted a `three dimensional' strategy to prevent Karnataka from going ahead with the development of its river basins. The first was to make a non-issue an issue and vice versa, thereafter to apprise the Centre of the matter and finally to `arm-twist' the Union Government in such a way that the latter acted in their favour. The Chitravati barrage issue was one such example. On the charge of the former Prime Minister, H. D. Deve Gowda, that the former Chief Minister, Ramakrishna Hegde, and Mr. Krishna were hobnobbing for a political alliance, Mr. Nage Gowda said it was Mr. Deve Gowda who was frequently meeting the Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, seeking an alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular) at the national level.

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