No move by Centre to form Cauvery Management Board: Ananth Kumar

BANGALORE: The Centre has no proposal to constitute the Cauvery Management Board, which Tamil Nadu is pressing for but is being opposed by Karnataka, Union Chemicals and Fertiliser Minister Ananth Kumar said today.

"Today morning I have spoken to Union Water Resource Minister Sadvi Uma Bharti, there is no such proposal in the Water Resource Department," Kumar told reporters here in the wake of media reports about the Centre's move on the CMB.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had strongly pitched for CMB during her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, but her counterpart in Karnataka Siddaramaiah has opposed CMB.

Karnataka's contention is that since civil appeals against the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal filed by riparian Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are pending in the Supreme Court, no move should be made to form CMB.

Siddaramaiah, who has announced that an all-party delegation would be taken to Modi on the issue, said in Mysore today he has sought an appointment on June 10 for the meeting.

Stating that central ministers from the state are kept in the loop, he said he has convened a meeting of floor leaders of Assembly here on 9 June to discuss the issue.

Kumar said, " Cauvery Management Board will be constituted, it should be constituted, all these are nothing but speculations; there is no base for such speculation and such proposal is also not there."

"Siddaramaiah had met me and Sadananda Gowda (Railway Minister) last week, both of us along with Siddeshwara (MoS Civil Aviation) and all our MP's have told him very clearly that we are committed to the interest of people of Karnataka," he said.

Kumar said that after the President's address on June 9, "I along with Sadananda Gowda, Siddeshwara, Prahlad Joshi (state President) and all our MP's will meet Prime Minister. "We will brief him about Karnataka's interest relating to Cauvery water issue," he added.