K'taka Council members condemn Cauvery Tribunal award

Bangalore, Feb 14 (UNI) The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal has rendered grave injustice to Karnataka by its final verdict, JD(S) member Sri Kante Gowda told the Legislative Council today.

Initiating a discussion on the issue, he said that even though Karnataka contributed 54 per cent of the water, only 37 per cent was allotted to the State. Tamil Nadu, which contributed 31 per cent of the water, however, was allotted a lion's share of 58 per cent by the Tribunal, which spoke volumes about the ''injustice'' meted out to Karnataka.

Mr Gowda said that while the total requirement of Karnataka for drinking water and industrial use was about 45 TMC of water, the Tribunal had allocated a mere 1.39 TMC. If the award was accepted, the State Government could not take up the Kabini II stage works for want of sufficient water and the entire Kabini basin would reel under permanent drought. He criticised the Tribunal for not taking into consideration the quantum of sub-soil water available in Tamil Nadu in the Cauvery delta.

Mr Arun Machaiah (Independent) described the verdict as ''biased and unscientific''. He suggested construction of two reservoirs near Mekedatu and Shivanasamudra to store the excess water available in the delta and utilise it for generating electricity.

BJP's Thontadarya and JD(S) member Abdul Ajeem condemned the Tribunal for rendering ''injustice'' to Karnataka.

The discussion remained incomplete when the Chairman adjourned the House to tomorrow.

UNI