Alt tag: PM utilises opportunity for informal talks with CMs of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu CRA meet put-off on lack of quorum New Delhi: A crucial meeting of the Cauvery River Authority convened on January 13 by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was deferred due to lack of quorum.

While Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna were present, the Chief Ministers of Kerala and Pondicherry were not there.

The Prime Minister used the occasion to hold consultations with Jayalalithaa and Krishna to arrive at an "informal understanding" on the distress-sharing formula, Urban Development Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters.

Failure of monsoon, water for standing crops and also for drinking were among other issues that figured during the meeting, Kumar said, adding water scarcity was the worst in the last 30 years.

The meeting was convened in a bid to find a distress sharing formula on the Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

PTI