(a) whether a high level delegation from Tamil Nadu met the Prime Minister recently to seek his intervention to save the standing crops in the State which are on the verge of destruction due to scarcity of water;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the action taken by the Government in the matter ?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES (SMT. BIJOYA CHAKRAVARTY)
(a) & (b) An all-Party delegation from Tamil Nadu met the
Hon’ble Prime Minister on 11.09.2001 and presented a
Memorandum seeking the Prime Minister’s intervention to
ensure the release of 1000 Million Cubic Feet of water per
day till the end of October to save the standing ‘kuruvai’
crops.
(c) A meeting of the Cauvery River Authority under the
Chairmanship of the Prime Minister was convened on 10th
October 2001. After taking note of the drought conditions in
the basin in both the States of Tamil Nadu & Karnataka, the
Authority directed the Government of Karnataka to ensure
inflows at Mettur as stipulated by the Tribunal, especially,
in view of the situation being faced in the Cauvery basin of
Tamil Nadu. The Authority also decided to work out an
acceptable and equitable procedure for pro-rata sharing of
the distress and accordingly requested the basin States to
put forward their specific suggestions for consideration by
the Authority.