Wednesday, April 26 2006 18:30 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Karnataka today (Apr 26, 2006) decided to oppose the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal's decision to appoint an expert committee to resolve the water sharing dispute.

An all-party meeting convened by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy unanimously decided to oppose constitution of any committee, terming the step "unnecessary", State Water Resources Minister K S Eswarappa and Minister for Law Basavaraj Horatti told a press conference here.

The state would file its comments before the tribunal on April 28.

"The decision of the two-member committee of the Tribunal to set up an expert panel is not acceptable to the state," leaders who attended the all party meet told the government, they said.

The meeting, attended by Opposition Congress leader in the state assembly N Dharam Singh, the party's leader in the upper house H K Patil, Vatal Nagaraj of Vatal Paksha, G V Sriramareddy of CPI-M and others, was of the view that the tribunal was trying to delay its final verdict by suggesting constitution of one more committee.

The Tribunal could rely on the data furnished by the riparian states and on arguments that have stretched over the last 16 years to pronounce its order, the meeting felt, the Ministers said.

It also decided that the Chief Minister should lead an all party delegation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to put forth the state's views and seek his intervention, Eswarappa said.