Water wars once again..

In politically volatile South India, even water can set States on fire. For decades on end, neighbouring states have fought over water sharing - with the Centre struggling to play King Solomon. Fasts, bandhs, litigation, statements, all party meetings, assembly resolutions - State Governments have flexed their muscles. Linguistic groups have hopped on to the bandwagon for their share of publicity.

Just a few months ago, it was the Mullaperiyar Dam dispute between Tamil Nadu and Kerala that saw even a controversial film 'Dam 999' being banned in Tamil Nadu for creating unnecessary fear psychosis and spreading imaginary panic. While the expert committee had ruled in favour of Tamil Nadu by declaring that the dam is safe and its height can be raised to 142 feet, Kerala used the leeway given to build an additional dam to interpret the decision in its favour. 

The Cauvery tangle is back on centre stage. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's latest missive to the Prime Minister (one has almost lost count of the number of letters shot off to the PM over the last one year since she was swept to power by a massive mandate) is a virtual mini chargesheet against Karnataka. 

Jaya's demand for an urgent meeting of the Cauvery River Authority is not without merit. The high powered body constituted during the earlier NDA regime, last met almost a decade ago, on the 10th of February, 2003 to be precise. So when the dispute is far from over, and if you need a Chief Minister to write to the Prime Minister demanding a meeting, that itself shows what a toothless tiger the authority comes across as.

And what about the Water Resources Ministry? In November, last year Jayalalithaa had written to the Prime Minister requesting him to direct the ministry to notify the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal obtained five years ago, in the Union Gazette. A plea to put in place a Cauvery Management Board for effective implementation of the award is also hanging fire. The excuse: Let the Supreme Court dispose the case off.

If Tamil Nadu is to be believed; and there is no evidence to the contrary, Karnataka has been flouting both the letter and spirit of the order. Reports suggest that Karnataka has been using water for summer irrigation and in the bargain, depleting storage in the four major reservoirs. Consider these figures. The gross combined storage was 58.50 TMC feet on the first of February this year. It now stands at about 28 TMC feet. That's an outrageous depletion of more than 30 TMC feet in three months. By impounding the early monsoon inflow and releasing the left over or surplus water to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka seems to be using Tamil Nadu as a piece of convenience. The damage to the Kuruvai crop and the delay in Samba cultivation stare farmers here in the face. Distress is on the cards in Tamil Nadu. And the Distress Sharing Formula suggested by the Cauvery Monitoring Committee seems to exist only on paper.

What's worse, given the scarcity, Karnataka was specifically instructed to cap its area under cultivation to nothing beyond 11.20 lakh acres. The onus is on Karnataka to furnish annual details. Why is it silent? Does its silence imply another violation of the Cauvery Award?

You can't mess with Jayalalithaa. Not when she has such a brute majority on the floor of the House. Not when she has every twist and turn, every nuance and legal update on her fingertips. And she is merely asking for Tamil Nadu's legitimate share of water. 

If the Centre cares to disprove the charge that it is according step motherly treatment to non-Congress ruled States, here's where it can step in. At stake is the livelihood of farmers. And indeed, Tamil Nadu's welfare.

Soon Union Government Vs Tamil Nadu Vs Karnataka..