Describing as “unfair and highly disadvantageous” to Karnataka the Cauvery Monitoring Committee’s directive to release 12 tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar today appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to reject it.
In a letter to Dr Singh, Mr. Shettar said “the recommendations of the CMC should be rejected by you at the earliest to save the standing crops in Karnataka…” He also said the order may be kept in abeyance.
The CMC order “is unfair and highly disadvantageous to Karnataka”, he said.
He pointed out that at the October 11 meeting of the CMC, it had given a road map of the flow to be received by Tamil Nadu at Biligundlu gauging station considering 41 per cent as distress.
“The road map for December reducing the interim order releases of 10.37 tmcft by 41 per cent, stipulated 6.12 tmcft.
The average discharge to manage 6.12 tmcft would work out to 2285 cusecs”, he said.
Even after considering 40.4 per cent as distress, the CMC on Friday ordered 12 tmc ft water to Tamil Nadu during December, Mr. Shettar said and added “this is two times of 6.12 tmcft”.
Karnataka has already been releasing 10,000 cusecs, complying with the Supreme Court directive two days ago, an action which has drawn flak from farmers and sparked stir in the Cauvery basin districts.
