To obey or not: K’taka in a fix over SC order

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu for the next three days. That will be a total of 18,000 cusecs.

Rejecting the plea of Karnataka that it was impossible to release any water in view of the low storage level, the Court told the state that it should first comply with the order on the release of water and then come back for any modification.

But reacting to the order, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said it was not possible to release any water. Ironically, Siddaramaiah is on a tour of flood-affected areas of north Karnataka when he said he has no water of the Cauvery to spare. He said he cannot release water immediately after an order has been passed by the Supreme Court and that he will have to study the order and the implications.

The Chief Minister has called for an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday when a decision will be taken on whether the government should obey the Supreme Court order or that of the legislature. It may be recalled that on Sept 23, the legislature had passed a resolution against release of Cauvery water for agriculture purposes to Tamil Nadu.

If Karnataka does not release water as per Supreme Court directive, it will lead to a piquant situation. Siddaramaiah is in a catch-22 situation. Either he has to obey the court''s directive or the resolution of state legislature.

If he complies with the Supreme Court order, he will have to face breach of privilege; if he does not release water, the case would lead to a constitutional crisis where the supremacy of the legislature and the judiciary will come in play. Earlier, counsel for Karnataka Fali Nariman told the Supreme Court in no uncertain terms that it was not possible to release any water on two counts:

First, there is no water. Second, the legislature has passed a resolution against any release of water. However, the counsel for Tamil Nadu told the court, that it is imperative to first comply with the Supreme Court order and then take up other issues. The court seems to have agreed to this stand. The Supreme Court adjourned the case till September 30 when the bench would review the situation. But the bench reminded Karnataka that the state is part of the federal system and it should show an accommodative spirit. Reacting to the development, Congress incharge for Karnataka Digvijaya Singh said it was time that Prime Minister Narendra Modi stepped in to resolve the tangle between the two states. Meanwhile, protests broke out in Mandya and Cauvery basin. But the state government has tightened the security to avoid any repetition of what has happened earlier. The vexed Cauvery issue is likely to lead to a fullblown tussle between the judiciary and the legislature. On September 23, a special session of both Houses of the legislature in Karnataka passed a resolution stating that Cauvery water is available only to meet the drinking water needs of the people in the Cauvery basin, Mysuru and Bengaluru. The resolution had expressed inability of the State to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu as directed by the Supreme Court. The resolution was carefully and cleverly worded. It said drinking water is a priority and that will gain precedence over agriculture. Water for agriculture can wait - both in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. But today, the Supreme Court seems to have rejected this argument and excuse.