CRA will have to meet again for any review/stay of order, says Bansal

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday ruled out a stay or review of the decision of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) directing Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of water every day to Tamil Nadu till October 20, saying there was no mechanism for him to do so at the request of a party. The Prime Minister chairs the CRA, which has as members Chief Ministers of the basin States, including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

Opposition to overarching legal framework of principles on water

A conference of Water Resources and Irrigation Ministers here on Wednesday saw opposition to the Centre’s proposal to evolve an overarching national legal framework of principles on water, to link financial assistance to “aggressive” water sector reforms and to set up a Permanent Forum of Water Resources and Irrigation Ministers to deliberate on issues/disputes.

The Centre has sought the comments of Cauvery basin States on the inability of Karnataka to release 9000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu as directed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the meeting of the Cauvery River Authority on September 19.

Secretary Union Water Resources D.V. Singh, who is also Chairman of the official-level CMC, on Tuesday wrote to the States concerned seeking their “views and comments” in the matter. Tamil Nadu, meanwhile, on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court on the issue.

At an estimated 117.18 million tonnes, it is, however, “better than expected,” says Pawar

At an estimated 117.18 million tonnes, kharif production is expected to fall short of the target by 11.84 million tonnes this year, what with the delayed and deficient monsoon hitting production of coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds in parts of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. It is lower by 12.76 million tonnes than what was achieved during kharif of 2011-12, though the southwest monsoon deficiency has come down to five per cent after significant late rainfall in August and September.

Jayalalithaa to knock at the doors of Supreme Court

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday directed Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu at Biligundlu (the border) daily from September 21 till October 15. Both the States said the ruling was “unacceptable’’. Chairing the seventh meeting of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) to resolve the issue of sharing of Cauvery waters, the Prime Minister initially appealed to the States to reach an amicable and mutually acceptable solution on pro rata sharing of distress this season, when the monsoon has been deficient in the both the States, but there was no consensus.

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu have both recorded deficient rains

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will chair a crucial meeting of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) here on Wednesday to clinch a consensus on pro rata distress sharing of the water by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu as both have recorded deficient rains so far during the southwest monsoon. Among others, the meeting will be attended by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and her Karnataka counterpart Jagadish Shettar. Both will be accompanied by their Irrigation Ministers and senior officials.

It is ‘misleading’ IMD categorised some districts as normal: Pawar

The Union government on Wednesday announced relief measures for the drought-hit areas, including an increase in the number of assured workdays under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to 150 from 100 days and reduction in the interest on crop loans to 7 per cent from 12 per cent during the current fiscal.

But people are not receptive to the idea of discussing it, he laments

Union Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Wednesday said there was need for general consensus and cooperative federalism on sharing of river waters. Inaugurating a seminar on ‘Inter-linking of Rivers: Issues and Challenges,’ he said transfer of water from surplus river basins to deficit ones was an effective way of increasing the irrigation potential for enhancing grains production, mitigating floods and droughts and reducing regional imbalances in water availability.

India and Pakistan have concluded their arguments in the dispute over the 330-MW hydro-electric project on Kishenganga, a tributary of the Jhelum in Jammu & Kashmir.

Islamabad claimed that the project will harm its share of river waters while New Delhi asserted that it was contemplating such a project even before the signing of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 and would otherwise have not agreed to the pact.

Press for universal public distribution system

Right to Food Campaign—a conglomeration of civil society groups — on Tuesday held a day-long protest at Jantar Mantar here, raising seven questions with MPs on the proposed National Food Security Bill, particularly in relation to people going hungry when the country has surplus food stocks. Rejecting the proposed amendments to the Bill that might reduce beneficiaries and entitlements under the Public Distribution System (PDS), they sought to know why a food security bill is needed.