Pennaiyar: Karnataka tells Centre not to form tribunal

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday said he had requested Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat not to form tribunal to resolve the dispute over sharing of Pennaiyar river between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

“I have requested the Union Minister not to form the tribunal to resolve the dispute over sharing of Pennaiyar river water. Karnataka wants to resolve this issue amicably through talks,” Shivakumar, who also holds Irrigation portfolio, told reporters here.

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“I hope, Jal Shakti Ministry will again take the lead and help resolve the dispute amicably,” Shivakumar said. He met Shekhawat on Thursday to discuss state irrigation issues.

Though Tamil Nadu has been demanding the constitution of the tribunal before the Supreme Court, Karnataka was against that. Even though the Jal Shakti Ministry has said a new tribunal will be constituted by July 5, Karnataka sought time to talk to Tamil Nadu to resolve this issue, he said.

Officials in the Jal Shakti Ministry said that the previous two meetings for negotiations ended in failure. “We will give a few more opportunities to resolve it,” the
official said.

Recently, the Supreme Court has asked the Jal Shakti Ministry to clarify its position on a plea filed by Tamil Nadu for setting up an inter-state water dispute tribunal.

Karnataka is building a dam across Markandeya river near Yargol village in Kolar district to provide drinking water to Kolar, Malur and Bangarpet taluks and 40 other villages. Karnataka has obtained all the required permission to build the dam at a cost of Rs 240 crore.

However, objecting to the project, Tamil Nadu claimed that since Markandeya river is tributary of Pennaiyar river, any construction of dam by Karnataka would obstruct natural flows downstream.