Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said that the state government will file a review petition before the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and the Supreme Court on Saturday, stating that it cannot release it to neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
"We do not have water and therefore cannot release water," the Chief Minister said.
The chief minister spoke to reporters at his home-office 'Krishna' after a meeting with retired Supreme Court judges and former Advocate Generals of the state. He informed that they have given some opinions and suggestions based on their experience and further decisions would be taken considering their suggestions.
The CM further said that it was suggested in the meeting to form an expert advisory committee to the government exclusively regarding the irrigation projects of the state and undertake data collection and advisory work. The committee should advise the government and provide information to the legal team about inter-state water disputes, he said, adding that action will be taken accordingly.
Regarding the release of 3,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu, it was argued before both the committees that Karnataka cannot release water as it does not have water.
The CM said that they have also suggested filing a review petition before the Cauvery board and the Supreme Court. He said that the state will intensify its demand for the Mekedatu scheme in the Supreme Court, and contend Tamil Nadu would have no problem with it.
He said that Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir will have a storage capacity of 67 TMC, which will be used for electricity and drinking water. He said that it has been advised that water can be released to Tamil Nadu whenever there is a problem.
Replying to a question, the CM said a special session of the Legislature will be called if an occasion arises.
On a question whether the state government stand would be contempt of court, he said that there would be contempt of court only when the order is deliberately disobeyed.
The CM also congratulated the public for their cooperation, and the organisations for ensuring a peaceful bandh and appreciated the officers for maintaining law and order well, so that no untoward incident took place anywhere in the state.
Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Home Minister G.Parameshwara, Law Minister H.K. Patil, Agriculture Minister Cheluvarayaswamy, Chief Minister's Political Secretary Govindaraju, Political Advisor Naseer Ahmed, and Legal Advisor Ponnanna were present in the meeting.
With inputs from agencies