Message Board

Should rivers be nationalised? Post your views

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on May 5 rejected her Karnataka counterpart S M Krishna's offer of a negotiated settlement to the Cauvery dispute and said Tamil Nadu was of the "firm" view that only Cauvery water disputes tribunal and Supreme Court could render justice to it on the issue.

Making a statement in the Assembly, she said the offer was adding "insult to injury" after the state had suffered great hardships, following Karnataka government's refusal to abide by the orders of the tribunal and the Supreme Court, thereby committing contempt of court.

"If Karnataka can ignore the tribunal and court orders, is it prudent to hold talks with that state," she asked.

She said Tamil Nadu had sought the meeting of monitoring committee of the Cauvery river water authority to finalise the distress water sharing formula. "Perhaps Karnataka government does not want it and calling for talks is only a delaying tactic," she said.

She said talks between both the states had not produced any results and there was no need to resume the talks.

She said when the tribunal was constituted in 1990,the then Karnataka Chief Minister Veerendra Patil had stated it was a great achievement of the state to have postponed the Constitution of the tribunal for 20 years.

The idea of talks was only to delay the proceedings of the tribunal, which had come to the concluding stage, she said, adding Tamil Nadu would approach the Cauvery river water authority and the tribunal for justice.

PTI