The Central government has told Parliament that the implementation of the link project of the Godavari-Cauvery rivers “solely depends” upon the ability of the States concerned to reach a consensus.
Stating this in response to a question raised by MP M. Thambidurai (AIADMK) in the Rajya Sabha, Bishweswar Tudu, Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti, said in a written reply on Monday that the Union government had made “concerted efforts” to bring about a consensus among the States on water sharing and other related issues. “As prime stakeholders, it is, however, for the party States to reach a consensus,” Mr Tudu pointed out.
As far as the Union Minister’s reply is concerned, the term, “party States,” covers Telengana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu apart from the Union Territory of Puducherry. However, Telengana, in March this year, urged the Central authorities to invite Chhattisgarh too for any discussion on the link project as it held that the basic proposal itself involved the transfer of the un-utilised water share of Chhattisgarh.
