Aghast over no allocation of Godavari waters to K’taka: Ex-PM Gowda writes to Jal Shakti Minister Shekhawat

Venting his ire at the authorities at the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti (MOJS), former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda on Saturday stated that he was aghast by the decision of the ministry to not allocate any water to Karnataka from the Godavari River.

Former PM Gowda has written a letter to the Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, on Saturday in this regard.

“I am really aghast by the conduct of the concerned authorities in the MOJS who have not bothered to make any allocation of Godavari waters to Karnataka out of the Godavari-Cauvery link project despite assurances given by the Union Minister of Finance on the floor of the House that all the concerned sates would be consulted before finalising the Detailed Project Report and implementing the project,” Deve Gowda stated.

“I would like to bring to your kind notice in this context that the Godavari Disputes Tribunal which adjudicated the dispute relating to sharing of Godavari water that was to be diverted to Krishna basin had given its award in 1976 determining the share of Karnataka as 21 TMC for use in Krishna Basin from out of the total quantity of 80 TMC available from diversion,” Deve Gowda pointed out.

“The MOJS should have followed this established principle and provided for an appropriate share to Karnataka in the DPR of Godavari-Krishna-Pennar-Cauvery link. By not doing so, all principles of equity and natural justice have been thrown to winds by the MOJS,” Deve Gowda expressed his anger.

The former PM further said, “As you are aware, inter-linking of rivers is being discussed at the national level from the last 40 to 50 years under the National Perspective Plan and as a part of this plan, it is proposed to link Mahanadi to Godavari and then link Godavari to Krishna, Pennar and Cauvery rivers under the Peninsular River Development (PRD) scheme.

“This scheme is proposed to be implemented by the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) which is a Government of India agency. The proposal of NWDA is to take up the Godavari-Krishna-Pennar-Cauvery link in Phase I after which the Mahanadi-Godavari link and the Cauvery-Vaigai-Gundar link (all in Tamil Nadu) would be taken up in the second phase.”

The feasibility report of the Godavari-Cauvery link was commissioned by the NWDA in 2004.

“The project report for the Godavari-Cauvery link has undergone changes several times based on ground realities and the prevailing contexts and circumstances.

“It was earlier estimated that about 136 TMC of water would be available to Cauvery by diversion from Godavari, the delivery point being below Mettur Dam in Tamil Nadu.

“It was the earnest hope of Karnataka that about 35 to 40 TMC of water would be available to Karnataka by substitution for use in Cauvery basin,” he said.

“During discussions on the Budget in the Rajya Sabha on February 8, 2022, I brought it to the notice of the House that Tamil Nadu had already started implementing the Cauvery Vaigai-Gundar link illegally even though it has not been included in Phase I of the project.

“I insisted that the share of Karnataka out of the water to be diverted from Godavari to Cauvery should be decided before finalising the DPR,” Gowda stated.

“Subsequent to the Budget presentation, the Secretary, MOJS, Government of India took a meeting on February 18, 2022 which was attended by the representatives of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

“I was given to understand in that meeting that about 247 TMC of water would be diverted from Godavari in Phase 1, which would be distributed to Andhra Pradesh (90 TMC), Telangana (60 TMC) and Tamil Nadu (97 TMC),” he detailed.

“However, neither a copy of the DPR nor any paper on the subject for discussion was made available to Karnataka to confirm the above features of the proposal.

“As no water had been allocated to Karnataka, our representatives have taken strong objection and insisted on allowing our rightful share of water on principles of equity and natural justice.

“They have also brought to the notice of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha how Karnataka had been suffering for decades due to acute shortage of water for irrigation and drinking,” Gowda pointed out.

Gowda stated that the fact that Cauvery is a deficit basin and Karnataka had more number of drought-affected taluks than Tamil Nadu, which is admitted by the Tribunal as well as by the Supreme Court, was also brought to the notice of the Chairman in the above said meeting to justify the demand for Karnataka’s rightful share of diverted water.

“During discussions, the Chairman is learnt to have indicated that the demand of Karnataka could be considered in the second Phase as and when Mahanadi would be linked to Godavari,” ex-PM Gowda said.