New Delhi, Aug 24 (IANS): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, leading an all-party delegation, on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought his intervention for an out-of-tribunal settlement of the Mahadayi water matter and other issues of the southern state.

The Mahadayi water issue, which concerns Goa and Maharashtra apart from Karnataka, is pending before a tribunal.

A PMO release said Modi suggested that a consensus would be necessary among various political parties in all three states before an attempt can be made to resolve the matter out of tribunal through mutual consultations.

The union cabinet had approved the proposal for setting up Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal in 2009.

The delegation also raised the issue of "severe drought" in Karnataka, specially in the northern parts of the state. At this, the prime minister assured that central team is being sent to the state to assess the situation at the earliest.

The delegation raised the problems being faced by sugarcane farmers, due to the fall in sugar prices but Modi noted that these problems were being faced by sugarcane farmers across the country and the central government was taking a number of steps to address them.

The delegation also sought a hike in the import duty of silk to 30 percent to protect the interests of the mulberry growers in the state.

"The prime minister said this request would be examined," the release said.

Union ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu, Ananth Kumar and D.V. Sadananda Gowda, and Congress' leader in the Lok Sabha Shri Mallikarjun Kharge were present at the meeting.