The Hindu Business Line : Cauvery issue resolution paves way for progress: Farmers

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Chennai Feb. 7 The final order by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal now paves the way for upgrading and modernising irrigation in the Cauvery delta and exploiting the river for power generation, say farmers in the delta.

Apart from water sharing, a resolution of the dispute is also expected to pave way to start work on the Cauvery Hydro Power Project conceived in 1998. It envisages two power projects each in Tamil Nadu - at Hogenekkal (120 MW) and Rasimanal (360 MW) - and Karnataka - at Sivasamudram (270 MW) and Mekadatu (400 MW).

Mr S. Ranganathan, General Secretary, Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Association, while welcoming the decision by the Tribunal, said that it had "done justice under difficult circumstances."

The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, in the final order on Monday, said that Karnataka was to release 192 tmc ft to Tamil nadu, which would supply to Puducherry 7 tmc ft.

Tamil Nadu gets an additional 25 tmc ft from its own catchment areas.

Mr Ranganathan said that it was now up to the State governments to cooperate and implement the order.

The opportunity was ripe to modernise the river system. It paves the way for taking up long-term projects such as interlinking of rivers, diversion of basin water for improved efficiency of water use.

He pointed out that apart from desilting, no major work had been done to increase the efficiency of the irrigation structures. Funding agencies such as the World Bank had declined to support such projects in the Cauvery because of the dispute. Both the State governments can now approach the multilateral funding agencies for support.

He recalled that Tamil Nadu had proposed a Rs 1,000 crore modernisation scheme in the 1970s but had given it up because of the dispute. The river supports nearly a third of the food grain production in the South. But absolutely no development work had been done on the system.

The tribunal's order cannot be improved upon because it is a deficit river, he said. Farmers were happy that the issue has been resolved; it is up to the politicians now to work together, he said.

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