Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, May 3: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday asserted that the state will strongly press for the issuance of a gazette notification on the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II verdict at the upcoming inter-state meeting convened by the union Jal Shakti minister on May 7.

Addressing media persons in Bengaluru, the Chief Minister said that a high-level preparatory meeting was held earlier in the day with deputy chief minister and water resources minister D K Shivakumar, law minister, senior officials, and legal experts to finalise Karnataka’s strategy for the meeting.

Although the tribunal delivered its verdict in December 2010, and a partial notification followed in 2013, the Centre has yet to issue the final gazette notification that would allow Karnataka to fully utilise its allocated share of 173 TMC of Krishna River water, Siddaramaiah pointed out.

“We have been consistently demanding this. The May 7 meeting has been convened only after deputy CM Shivakumar and I met with the Union Irrigation Minister and insisted on addressing this long-pending issue,” the CM said.

He further stressed that raising the dam height from 519 meters to 524 meters is essential for Karnataka to effectively harness its allocated water. “We will reiterate this demand at the meeting,” he added.

Siddaramaiah also noted that Telangana and Andhra Pradesh had filed their applications, and that the Supreme Court has not issued any interim stay preventing Karnataka from moving forward. “Therefore, we will proceed with our plans,” he said.

Meanwhile, deputy CM D K Shivakumar reaffirmed the government’s stand, saying Karnataka will continue to mount pressure on the Centre for a gazette notification based on the 2010 verdict of the tribunal.

Speaking at a press conference at Vidhana Soudha, Shivakumar said the state would raise the issue strongly during the May 7 meeting, after which an all-party meeting will be held in Karnataka to build consensus.

“The union minister has called this meeting with ministers from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra. Ahead of this, we held a detailed preparatory session chaired by CM Siddaramaiah,” Shivakumar said.

The meeting was attended by Law Minister H K Patil, and ministers R B Timmapur, M B Patil, Shivananda Patil, and Sharanabasappa Darshanapur, along with legal experts from Delhi.

Shivakumar highlighted that Karnataka had already taken steps for land acquisition during the Belagavi Assembly session, but has faced delays due to the Centre’s inaction.

“Fifteen years have passed since the tribunal’s verdict, yet the gazette notification remains pending. As a result, Karnataka has suffered heavy losses, with project costs rising and water going unutilised,” he said. “It’s encouraging that the Centre has finally agreed to convene this meeting. We are hopeful of a positive outcome.”