Chennai: The need of the hour is instituting some innovative mechanisms for ‘water sharing’ by taking into confidence all stakeholders. This is the only way ‘ugly water wars’, as being seen again this year with respect to sharing of Cauvery waters, could be averted in the country, says veteran delta farmer with family roots in the arid Aranthangi belt and noted groundwater expert Dr P.M. Natarajan.
At least now, the Central government needs to come out with a firm ‘action plan’ to put in place a system of incentives and disincentives to make ‘water sharing’ among respective basin states a reality in conformity with adjudicated Tribunal Awards, says Dr Natarajan, a former member of the state-level ‘Expert Appraisal Committee’, Government of Tamil Nadu.
Sharing some of his views with DC, Dr Natarajan, who is currently on a visit abroad, said he was pained to note Karnataka’s intransigence again with their State Assembly passing a resolution “not to release” Cauvery waters to Tamil Nadu despite the Supreme Court’s modified order.
“We have seen for over decades that Karnataka government never released water to Tamil Nadu so far by respecting the Award.” Only in the times of flood when it goes beyond their (Karnataka) holding capacity in dams in that State was water released.
“This is history”, he said, adding, unless a pan-Indian view was taken about, such ‘water wars’ could spread to other states, making “people’s misery bigger”.
The water sharing practice and experience in Cauvery river basin in particular has been “pathetic” so far, he regretted, adding, “absence of a water sharing method would trigger several water wars in India.”
Going by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal’s final Award given in 2007, of the total water potential in the basin, 419 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) was awarded for Tamil Nadu, 270 tmcft for Karnataka, 30 tmcft to Kerala and 7 tmcft to Pondicherry. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu being the major shareholders, Karnataka was ordered to release 192 tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu in a normal year from June to May, he stressed.
Considering that the Tribunal’s Interim Award had said Karnataka should make available 205 tmcft of Cauvery waters in a normal year to Tamil Nadu at Mettur reservoir, 192 tmcft in number terms is really no big deal for the upper riparian state, said Dr Natarajan, echoing the views of the late distinguished economist and former advisor to Tamil Nadu government, Dr S. Guhan.
The major irritant for Karnataka is the stipulated weekly and monthly release schedules into Cauvery from its reservoirs, more so in a monsoon deficit year and considering that the drinking water requirements of a big city like Bengaluru, India’s IT capital, has also increased manifold in the last two decades.
But this is not an insurmountable issue as both the States have to learn to live together, contends Dr Natarajan. It is here that that the Central government should play a more effective role, since “Tamil Nadu is reeling under almost absolute water scarcity.”
And for the Cauvery delta to “attain sustainable irrigation” needs at least 192 tmcft of water from Karnataka to be delivered at the Stanley reservoir in Mettur, the expert emphasised.
In his view, to “arrest the water misery”, what needs to done now quickly are as follows:
1) The Centre should constitute the ‘Cauvery Management Board (CMB)’ and the ‘Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’ immediately as suggested by the Supreme Court to enable the “effective implementation” of the Tribunal’s Award.
2) The scope of the work of the committees should be extended to monitor the volume of water in reservoirs like Siruvani, Kabini, Harangi, Hemavathi, Krishnarajasagar and Metter that fall under the Cauvery’s extended catchment area to decide the quantum of water available there.
3) Proposed construction of ‘Mekedatu dam’ in Cauvery river by Karnataka should not be encouraged as it would “further complicate” the Tribunal Award’s implementation.
4) Have a system of incentives and disincentives if Karnataka did not fulfil its legal obligations under the Award. This also needs a national consensus on such a system for all upper riparian states of all river systems in the country, as international norms require that needs of lower riparian states, on geographical ground, should not be ignored.
5) Last but not least, the Government of India should bring all water resources within the country “under its control” to help implement the Awards of Tribunals without a row.
Stating that there were International examples to resolve water sharing issues amicably, Dr Natarajan cited how under the ‘Colorado River Compact’ in the USA, seven western basin states of that country have been sharing water for long years now, and how the USA and Mexico shared the water from Colorado river since the 1944 Water Treaty.
In India, it was sadly the “political will” that was lacking, said Dr Natarajan, adverting to how due to absence of ‘water sharing’, about 36 million workers have shifted from agriculture to non-agricultural sectors within India between 2004-05 to 2011-12, rendering them ‘water refugees’ in small towns and cities.
Also, over 300,000 farmers have committed suicide in India in the last decade, he added to drive home the urgency of hammering out a consensus on a ‘water sharing principle’ among States.
