Contrary to earlier indications that the Centre would form a Tribunal to resolve the dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the Pennaiyar river water, the Union government has set up a fresh negotiation committee in line with the request of the upper riparian State. This follows the Supreme Court’s nod for the move.
Headed by the Central Water Commission (CWC)’s chairman Kushvinder Vohra, the panel is to hold its inaugural meeting in New Delhi on February 21. Apart from representatives of the two riparian States, the committee consists of officials from the other two riparian stakeholders — Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry — and officials of the Union Ministries of Agriculture and Environment, Forest & Climate Change. A director in the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation at the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) and the CWC’s chief engineer in charge of irrigation management organisation (IMO) are the other members of the panel.
The dispute arose in the wake of Tamil Nadu’s complaint, filed in the Supreme Court in 2018, that Karnataka had taken up construction of a dam across the Markandeya river, a tributary of Pennaiyar, and diversion structures in violation of the Madras-Mysore Agreement of 1892. In November 2019, the lower riparian State approached the Centre to constitute a Tribunal. In January 2020, the Union government formed a negotiation committee, which met twice.. No understanding was reached during the deliberations. According to an official document of the Tamil Nadu government, the committee submitted the final report to the Centre on July 31, 2020, “in favour of the constitution of the Tribunal.” In 2021, the MoJS attempted to sort out the matter, by holding another round of two meetings with the two States. In December 2022, the Court gave the Centre three months to constitute the Tribunal and this was preceded by Tamil Nadu filing an additional affidavit in the Supreme Court, requesting for issuance of directions to the Union government .
Seven months later, the Union Ministry, which had been buying time to act on the issue, told the Court that a proposal on the proposed Tribunal was submitted to the Cabinet Secretariat for consideration and approval of the Union Cabinet, which “is yet to take a final decision in the matter.” In October last, the Centre informed the Court of the request by Karnataka’s Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar for resuming the route of talks as their government, which came to power in May 2023, “had no opportunity of negotiating” with Tamil Nadu. On January 23, the Court directed the Union Ministry to set up a fresh negotiation committee. Calling upon the panel to make an “earnest endeavour” to reach a negotiated settlement of the dispute, the Apex Court sought a report from the Central government within three months. On February 7, the MoJS issued an order to establish the committee.
A senior official of the Tamil Nadu government says that in addition to the issue of construction of a dam on the Markendeya river and diversion structures, it will raise, at the meeting, the matter of Karnataka letting out “untreated” domestic sewage to the Pennaiyar river.
