Suggestions to Government of India on tackling Cauvery issue
After several decades of disputes between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka on sharing of Cauvery water, Supreme Court has given a firm judgement that Cauvery Water Management Board should be set up and also fixed the share of Cauvery water between the states.
While the government of India has not contested the verdict of the supreme Court on setting up Cauvery Water Management Board , it has not followed the time line given by Supreme court for setting up the Cauvery Water Management Board.
While giving the verdict, Supreme Court itself could have laid the rules and guidelines for setting up the Cauvery Water Management Board and appointed members of the Board without leaving the task to Government of India. In the past, there were several cases where Supreme Court has appointed monitoring committees such as Environmental Monitoring Committee and also decided the guidelines and members of the Board.
If Supreme Court has done this, possibly Cauvery Water Management Board could have started functioning now.
Obviously, Government of India has problems in setting up the Cauvery Water Management Board , since Karnataka is severely opposing the idea and Tamil Nadu is vigorously supporting the idea. With Tamil Nadu having population of around 7 crore and Karnataka having population of around 6 crore , the confrontation between the two states due to Government of India forming Cauvery Water Management Board could have led to violent clashes and undesirable consequences.
It appears that Government of India wants to call the leadership of the states involved and work out an amicable solution, keeping the verdict of the Supreme Court in mind, so that the Cauvery Water Management Board can have a smooth start.
Since the Karnataka state election has been announced and a new government is to be formed after election in Karnataka, Government of India has to necessarily wait till popular government is elected in Karnataka, so that meeting of the states can be taken up. Obviously, Government of India is justified in delaying the formation of Cauvery Water Management Board, till the election in Karnataka would be completed.
After the election in Karnataka , Modi government has to call the meeting of the states , try it’s best to work out a consensus and then form the Cauvery Water Management Board as per the Supreme Court verdict.
When there is adequate monsoon, there is no dispute between the states in sharing water. The problem happens only when monsoon fails or is delayed. Such failure or delay of monsoon are likely to happen more frequently in the coming years due to global warming and consequent change of wind direction.
In such circumstances, while forming the Cauvery Water Management Board as per the supreme court verdict, Government of India should also help the states in conserving the water during monsoon and also generating new source of water.
There are around 40,000 lakes and also 79 reservoirs in Tamil Nadu whose water holding capacity is more than the capacity of all storage dams in Tamil Nadu. Similar is the case in Karnataka also.
Both the states have failed to desilt the lakes and reservoirs, whose present storage level has been reduced atleast by 20% due to silt accumulation. During the monsoon period , in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu , several millions of litres of water are let into the sea and wasted due to lack of storage capacity in the lakes and reservoirs.
The desilting of the lakes can be effectively made as people’s movement by asking individuals or groups or companies to take the silt free of charge and use it for whatever purpose. The top half foot of the silt can be used for agricultural purposes, the next half foot can be used in brick kilns and the next two feet of silt can be used for road and building construction. Allowing the people to take the silt under stipulated conditions can quicken the desilting process and save investment for the government.
In addition to the desilting exercise, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, which are in coastal regions , should set up desalination plants of total capacity of 10,000 million litres per day in each state. Capacity of 10,000 million litre per day will cost around Rs. 50000 crore and the project can operate as separate profit centre. The desalination plant can meet around 10 to 12% of the water needs of the states, which is the present short fall during monsoon failure in most years. Investors from India and abroad with technology capability will certainly show interest in participating in such project.
Government of India should quickly work out an adequate programme with firm schedule on above lines and facilitate the speedy implementation of the projects.
This move of the Government of India will give confidence to the people in both the states that government of India has taken meaningful initiative to tackle the possible drought conditions in both the states and perhaps, cauvery water issue will no more be a spot for disputes in future.
N.S.Venkataraman
Nandini Voice For The Deprived
nandinivoice.com more
While the government of India has not contested the verdict of the supreme Court on setting up Cauvery Water Management Board , it has not followed the time line given by Supreme court for setting up the Cauvery Water Management Board.
While giving the verdict, Supreme Court itself could have laid the rules and guidelines for setting up the Cauvery Water Management Board and appointed members of the Board without leaving the task to Government of India. In the past, there were several cases where Supreme Court has appointed monitoring committees such as Environmental Monitoring Committee and also decided the guidelines and members of the Board.
If Supreme Court has done this, possibly Cauvery Water Management Board could have started functioning now.
Obviously, Government of India has problems in setting up the Cauvery Water Management Board , since Karnataka is severely opposing the idea and Tamil Nadu is vigorously supporting the idea. With Tamil Nadu having population of around 7 crore and Karnataka having population of around 6 crore , the confrontation between the two states due to Government of India forming Cauvery Water Management Board could have led to violent clashes and undesirable consequences.
It appears that Government of India wants to call the leadership of the states involved and work out an amicable solution, keeping the verdict of the Supreme Court in mind, so that the Cauvery Water Management Board can have a smooth start.
Since the Karnataka state election has been announced and a new government is to be formed after election in Karnataka, Government of India has to necessarily wait till popular government is elected in Karnataka, so that meeting of the states can be taken up. Obviously, Government of India is justified in delaying the formation of Cauvery Water Management Board, till the election in Karnataka would be completed.
After the election in Karnataka , Modi government has to call the meeting of the states , try it’s best to work out a consensus and then form the Cauvery Water Management Board as per the Supreme Court verdict.
When there is adequate monsoon, there is no dispute between the states in sharing water. The problem happens only when monsoon fails or is delayed. Such failure or delay of monsoon are likely to happen more frequently in the coming years due to global warming and consequent change of wind direction.
In such circumstances, while forming the Cauvery Water Management Board as per the supreme court verdict, Government of India should also help the states in conserving the water during monsoon and also generating new source of water.
There are around 40,000 lakes and also 79 reservoirs in Tamil Nadu whose water holding capacity is more than the capacity of all storage dams in Tamil Nadu. Similar is the case in Karnataka also.
Both the states have failed to desilt the lakes and reservoirs, whose present storage level has been reduced atleast by 20% due to silt accumulation. During the monsoon period , in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu , several millions of litres of water are let into the sea and wasted due to lack of storage capacity in the lakes and reservoirs.
The desilting of the lakes can be effectively made as people’s movement by asking individuals or groups or companies to take the silt free of charge and use it for whatever purpose. The top half foot of the silt can be used for agricultural purposes, the next half foot can be used in brick kilns and the next two feet of silt can be used for road and building construction. Allowing the people to take the silt under stipulated conditions can quicken the desilting process and save investment for the government.
In addition to the desilting exercise, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, which are in coastal regions , should set up desalination plants of total capacity of 10,000 million litres per day in each state. Capacity of 10,000 million litre per day will cost around Rs. 50000 crore and the project can operate as separate profit centre. The desalination plant can meet around 10 to 12% of the water needs of the states, which is the present short fall during monsoon failure in most years. Investors from India and abroad with technology capability will certainly show interest in participating in such project.
Government of India should quickly work out an adequate programme with firm schedule on above lines and facilitate the speedy implementation of the projects.
This move of the Government of India will give confidence to the people in both the states that government of India has taken meaningful initiative to tackle the possible drought conditions in both the states and perhaps, cauvery water issue will no more be a spot for disputes in future.
N.S.Venkataraman
Nandini Voice For The Deprived
nandinivoice.com more
Viewed by 637
View all 6 comments Below 6 comments
Cauvery water issue has to be handled in a wholesome manner. The conflict is created because of the narrow view taken by some politicians, farmers and some self-centred people. First, one must realise that Cauvery water as a resource has dwindled while the polulation along its banks have exploded. So the management of river must take up all the issues such as : 1. The deforestation aspect at the starting point of the river and along its course. 2. The cropping pattern along its course. 3. Drinking water requirement of a growing population 4. The manace of sand quarrying along the river 5. Periodical desilting of the river bed 6. Stopping the indiscriminate drawing of the ground water along its banks. 7. Construction and maintenance of dams along its course 8 Water wasted into the sea because of non-utilisation of water. 9.The possibility of reviving its tributes. Today, at least we are getting some water from Cauvery which we are using as a reason to fight. A time will come soon when Cauvery will disappear if all the atrocities on it are allowed to continue. more
May 16
Venkatraman's solution is comprehensive, dispassionate and practical at the same time, taking into account ground realities. Legalities aside, this also factors in the deeply entrenched and diametrically opposite positions of people from both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. I would only add that these solutions must be agreed upon and initiated in a time bound manner, say by end June 2018 before the onset of monsoon. As a demonstration of its commitment to the holistic solution, Karnataka must release say 1 tmc of water immediately. more
May 13
Venkatraman the topic is on Kaveri water Management board CMB . Why do you want to deviate from the topic . The ball is in the court of the Executive. There is dilly dallying from the Executive. Also they don't obey the SC court orders. It is simple. It doesn't have interest in putting up a populist Government on my homeland . I am not sure where you live or how you thrive .I don't have to go into details of all that . THIS IS THE TIME TO ACT ON SUPREME COURT ORDER AND NOT SEEK OTHER SOURCES . ONCE THE SC ORDER IS CARRIED OUT THEN YOUR VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS WILL BE SOUGHT . TILL THEN MITIVATE THE EXECUTIVE TO ACT ON THE SC ORDER . more
May 07
The topic is not on Kaveri Water Management Board, CMB. It is on tackling Cauvery Water issue. So Mr.Venkararaman is very correct. more
May 16
How many orders of supreme court Karnataka has not honoured? Is this now worse than the contempt of court? Karnataka says it has no water to follow the Supreme Court orders and asks the SC judges: When we ourselves have no water how can we give others/ more
May 09
Sir,Do you really believe you can do something against the prostrate Tamilnadu Government or the intimidating Central Government? If you do, you are are a fool. OPS & EPS are out to sell Tamilnadu (for getting themselves out of any case) to the Central Government and thereby to the corporates, and you just can not do anything about it.Sorry for the people of Tamilnadu. From: N. S. Venkataraman To: jaganmohanang@yahoo.com Sent: Monday, 7 May 2018 8:18 PM Subject: "Suggestions to Government..." more
May 07
Dear Mohanan, Please stop calling people using words which you have used. This is a forum for discussion and everyone has a right to give their thoughts. You can debate a topic with your thoughts. more
May 09
All parties in both states should join together irrespective of their differences and should desilt the lakes with their party workers.It should become a National Movement to preserves the water source in India to our future generations .this is the best legacy for our children who are going to lead future India. Vandemataram. more
May 07
