Why political parties in Tamil Nadu are pushing for Cauvery Water Management Board

The all-party meeting on Cauvery waters called for by the DMK at Anna Arivalayam, the party headquarters in Chennai, on Tuesday morning did not draw a full house. Major parties stayed away from the meeting, terming it 'a political gimmick'. But the resolutions adopted at the meeting suggest that the issue would continue to simmer unless the Centre steps in with firm measures, particularly the constitution of the Cauvery Water Management Board.

In the three other resolutions adopted at the meeting, it was decided that the Opposition parties would be meeting the Prime Minister on the sharing of the Cauvery waters, the Tamil Nadu government should convene the legislative assembly at the earliest to discuss the Cauvery issue at length and adopt a resolution and a compensation of Rs 30,000 per acre be paid to the affected farmers in the Cauvery belt wilting under pressure and distress.

NEED FOR UNITY ON CAUVERY ISSUE: STALIN

"There is a need for unity among various stakeholders to solve the Cauvery issue in favour of Tamil Nadu, just as political parties in Karnataka are uniting," emphasised Stalin, who presided over the meeting. "We made several requests to the government to take the initiative. As no one came forward to hold this meeting, we took the first step in the hope that those who abstained would participate in the future." Although leaders of farmers' associations and political parties, including G.K. Vasan of the TMC, Tehlan Baqavi of SDPI, Congress State president Thirunavukkarasar and IUML's Khadar Mohideen took part, those conspicuous by their absence were leaders from AIADMK, BJP, DMDK and PWF.

Also read: Cauvery row: Supreme Court asks Karnataka to continue releasing water to Tamil Nadu

As Stalin put it, "There has been no kuruvai cultivation and in the last five years. This year, even samba crop is doubtful due to Karnataka's unwillingness to release Cauvery waters." This is why all parties want this difficult situation to come to an end and a share in credit for resolving the issue in favour of Tamil Nadu.

Creating the Cauvery Water Management Board (CWMB) is the only meaningful solution for Tamil Nadu, which does not have a single river that flows perennially anywhere in the state. The primary concern is that inadequate flowing of river water over the years is transforming the Thanjavur delta from being a rice bowl to a dust bowl.

And the pre-poll promise of AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa, elected for a historic second consecutive term in June 2016, is that she will never compromise on Tamil Nadu's interests and least of all those of the farmers.

CAUVERY WATER BOARD DISADVANTAGEOUS FOR KARNATAKA

Karnataka is fully aware that the creation of the Cauvery Water Management Board could work to its disadvantage. Leveraging as the upper riparian state, Karnataka's stand is that it has pledged to provide Tamil Nadu 192 TMC in a good rainfall year as envisaged by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. This is why it has glossed over Tamil Nadu's protests against the construction of the Mekedatu reservoir in Ramanagaram district to store 48 TMC to meet Bengaluru's drinking water needs. It is going ahead by allotting funds for the project.

Jayalalithaa senses that the situation could get worse for Tamil Nadu with every passing year. She has reminded Prime Minister Modi in writing that the BJP's manifesto for Tamil Nadu also promised the creation of the Cauvery Water Management Board, as ordered by the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal in 2007. The Supreme Court has also endorsed this plan.

Also read: Tamil Nadu's farmers, parties protest for Cauvery board, stop trains

A Cauvery Water Management Board will be detrimental to the interests of Karnataka. That is why in Mandya and other places, along the upper reaches of the river, farmers and others are protesting against the Supreme Court's directive to supply water to Tamil Nadu.

Earlier stand-offs coupled with political posturing whipping up the Kannada versus Tamil sentiments have helped parties score brownie points.

POLITICAL EVENTS IN CAUVERY DISPUTE HISTORY

Major political events in the decades-long Cauvery water dispute include the 80-hour long fast by Jayalalithaa in Chennai way back in 1993 and the then Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna's 100 km padayatra in 2002.

In the time to come, incidents such as self-immolation attempts and fast-unto deaths cannot be ruled out.

With assembly elections less than two years away in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah and others such as BJP's BS Yeddyurappa will leave little to chance in projecting the state's and its farmers' interests.

Also read: Farmers in Trichy demand formation of Cauvery water management board

Tamil Nadu will lobby with the Centre even as it stays the legal course. After all, it is in response to the Special Leave Petition lodged by the state earlier. The Supreme Court on May 10, 2013 had in an interim order asked the government of India to establish a temporary Supervisory Committee to implement the Cauvery Tribunal order till the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board as provided for in the tribunal order. In that order, after 16 years of hearing and interim order, the Tribunal allocated 419 TMC to Tamil Nadu, 270 TMC to Karnataka, 30 TMC to Kerala and 7 TMC to Puducherry. It concluded that the total availability of water in the Cauvery basin was 740 TMC.

BJP OPTIMISTIC ABOUT REGAINING POWER IN KARNATAKA

The central government may prefer to be indecisive on the Cauvery Water Management Board, which would lead to a rational allocation of shares and ensure distribution, at least until the assembly elections in Karnataka are over. The BJP is optimistic about regaining power in the state and, at the same time, does not want to annoy the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and even hope to improve the party's support base here.

It is only after the Karnataka polls that the Water Resources department can bring warring sides to the table and take a pragmatic rather than a political view, to dissolve the interim supervisory committee on sharing the waters and constitute the permanent Cauvery Water Management Board. All motions, until then, serve only as a short-term solution by implementing a temporary truce on sharing what is available and ensuring an amicable flowing down of the river water.