The Karnataka government has decided to seek the opinion of its legal team headed by Fali S. Nariman before taking a final decision on consenting to the Centre’s proposal to constitute an experts’ group on Cauvery basin management.
The decision was taken at an all-party meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday.
Floor leaders of both the Houses of the State legislature discussed the impact of constituting an experts’ group on the final hearing of the appeals filed by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala against the 2007 award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal on sharing of Cauvery river water.
The final hearing will begin on July 11.
According to Minister for Water Resources M.B. Patil, six issues listed in the proposal of the Union Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) were discussed at the meeting.
It was decided to take a delegation to New Delhi and meet the legal team at the earliest.
Reservations voiced
Sources said some of the leaders expressed reservations over the clause that says all experts would be appointed by the MoWR. Their argument was that the Union government might take unilateral decisions in the absence of State representation.
They said consenting to the constitution of an experts’ group might delay the hearing of special leave petition (SLP) against the CWDT award by the Supreme Court. Some leaders sought clarification on whether the expert group’s decisions would be over and above the CWDT, whose verdict had already proved detrimental to Karnataka’s interests.
The State’s Advocate General, Madhusudhan Naik, reportedly explained the advantage of giving consent, citing the distress formula clause. However, consulting Mr. Nariman was agreed upon as the only way to clarify the various issues involved.
