No chance of Centre intervening in Cauvery issue, says Union Minister Pralhad Joshi

A day after Karnataka government sought the Centre's intervention to resolve Cauvery water sharing dispute with Tamil Nadu, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday said the question of Centre's intervention does not arise as Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) are quasi-judicial authorities.

"CWMA and CWRC are quasi-judicial authorities by an order of the Supreme Court, and Centre's intervention in this issue can't be sought. They agreed with this when Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat informed this. Inspite of that, all MPs and Union ministers from Karnataka are for protecting the interests of Karnataka, while the Centre will continue to extend the co-operation required," he said.

Opining that the state Government should have started preparations to save Cauvery water much earlier when the issue started becoming serious, Joshi charged that the Congress government started releasing water on August 8 to save its alliance with the DMK, and did not condemn 'Sanatana Dharma' remarks for the same reason.

"They lost the opportunity to hold talks with Tamil Nadu government, before the Supreme Court order came. We had suggested Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to hold one-to-one talks with his counterpart in Tamil Nadu. There is no chance for Centre's intervention," Joshi said.

Karnataka government had sought a visit by the officials' team for ground assessment, and we had also urged Jal Shakti minister in that regard. As Supreme Court order has come after that, the State Government should now come up with a proposal or solution on how to handle this, Joshi added.