With elections to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly about six months away, two major disputes over the sharing of river waters — Cauvery and Mahadayi — seem set to dominate the political discourse in south and north Karnataka, respectively.
The State is engaged in long legal battles in both cases and all three major political parties — Congress and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (Secular) — are treading cautiously on the two issues that have over the years got intertwined with identity politics as well.
The southern course
The decades-long legal dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on the sharing of Cauvery waters is back in the spotlight with the Supreme Court questioning the reluctance shown by the Centre to set up the Cauvery Water Management Board (CWMB) and frame a scheme for implementation of the tribunal award, notified in 2013. Karnataka has been opposing formation of the board fearing loss of control over the Cauvery basin reservoirs.
Cauvery being a sensitive issue in the Mysuru belt, and Bengaluru too which depends largely on it for drinking water, it cannot be ignored by any political party.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that lawyers representing the State have been asked to put forward Karnataka’s position strongly before the Supreme Court. Though the BJP does not have much stake in the region, it was opposed to formation of CWMB given the larger political ramifications. The BJP, which pins big hopes on the 2018 Assembly polls, has said that the party was ready to take a delegation to the Centre to discuss it. However, in the past, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has refused to intervene in the dispute, which has caused some embarrassment to the party.
The JD(S), which has its traditional hold over the region, has advised the government against recommending any official’s name to the Centre as the State’s member on the board. The JD(S) has been accusing both national parties of neglecting the State’s interest.
Trouble in the north
Meanwhile, the dispute on sharing Mahadayi river water with Goa is hanging fire and the discontentment over it is expected to become an important electoral issue, with this region holding key in the formation of any government. BJP State president B.S. Yeddyurappa has already announced his decision to give up his Shikaripur seat and contest from a constituency in the north.
The BJP finds itself in a particularly sticky wicket in this dispute because Goa, a BJP-ruled State, has been reluctant to negotiate on the issue. The Centre, in this case too, has been hesitant to be the arbiter. The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government has repeatedly criticised the State unit of BJP and the Centre for not doing enough on the issue. The saffron party has now announced that it would take a delegation to Goa for an amicable solution of the dispute.
Meanwhile, the farmers in north Karnataka are unhappy with both the Congress and the BJP. In fact, they often have expressed their frustration with the powers that be for not paying as much attention to Mahadayi as they do to Cauvery. The JD(S), which has presence in north Karnatka only in small pockets, hopes to make gains on this issue.
Yettinahole: Between the coast and the dry belt
The fate of Yettinahole project — meant to meet the drinking water needs of the parched districts surrounding Bengaluru by diverting water from the Yettinahole, a tributary of the Netravati — hangs in balance. The National Green Tribunal has reserved its order on utilisation of 24 tmcft of water, which is being opposed by environmentalists and people of Dakshina Kannada.
Though implementation of the ₹12,000-crore project would help Congress politically in south-interior Karnataka, it may turn counter productive in coastal Karnataka, where BJP is hoping to make a comeback in 2018. Political leaders of Dakshina Kannada district are opposing the project, while leaders from districts neighbouring Bengaluru are supporting its execution at the earliest.
The JD(S), which has little stake in the coastal belt, has been advocating the implementation of the project eyeing on the poll prospects in Kolar, Chickballapur, Tumakuru, Ramanagaram and Bengaluru Rural districts.
The project has not obtained environmental clearance, but has ignited passions in both regions within the State.
