Set up Cauvery Management Board, Kiran Bedi writes to PM Narendra Modi

Puducherry: Amidst growing discontent against the Union government for not constituting Cauvery Management Board (CMB), Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi made her stance clear and urged the Centre to set up CMB without further delay. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Ms Bedi urged Mr Modi to direct the ministry concerned to constitute CMB and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee forthwith.

The Lt Governor also maintained that there is no conflict of interest between Government of Puducherry and Central government in protecting the interests of farmers of the UT.

“The only difference between the political administration and administrator office is whether we file a contempt petition as Puducherry is not an independent entity but part of government of India as an extended entity. That is why I have written to the Prime Minister and others and approved instead filing of an interlocutory petition asking for expeditious decision. Also when there is difference of opinion we refer the matter to Union government,” said Ms Bedi in a WhatsApp message.

The Karaikal region of the Union Territory which is situated at the tail end of Cauvery depends on timely release of water from Cauvery river for agricultural operations. The recent Supreme Court order awarded 7 tmc feet water to the Union Territory and directed the union government to constitute CMB and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) within a time period of six weeks, Ms Bedi said in the letter.

The union Government had filed an interlocutory application seeking certain clarification and extension of time for another three months to constitute CMB which had created anxiety and unrest among the farming community of the Union Territory who have long awaited for the implementation of the final award of CWRC, said Ms Bedi.

The Lt Governor requested the Prime Minister to immediately intervene and direct the concerned ministries to constitute CMB and CWRB without further delay.

Ms Bedi said she had given approval to the territorial administration to file interlocutory petition before  Supreme Court to press for the demand of UT to constitute CMB forthwith to protect the interest of farmers.

Meanwhile, the AIADMK MNLAs staged a dharna in front of Raj Nivas on Monday for not constituting the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) by the Centre.

Alleging that the Lt Governor Kiran Bedi had rejected the file sent to her by the government seeking permission to file a contempt of court case against the Union government for its failure to constitute the Cauvery Management Board (CMB), the legislators of AIADMK including A. Anbazhagan, A. Bhaskar and Vayyapuri Manikandan resorted to a dharna in front of the main gate of Raj Nivas.