Rift over ''water-for-water'' exchange between Maharashtra, Karnataka

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, May 11

An agreement between Maharashtra and Karnataka to exchange water between the two states has resulted in a rift between legislators of the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena coalition in the state.

Under an agreement finalised between the two state governments earlier this last month, Maharashtra will release 4,000 million cubic feet (tm cft) of water into the Krishna river every summer to provide drinking water to north-western Karnataka. Maharashtra government sources said water would be released from either the Koyna or the Warana dams depending on its availability.

In turn, the neighbouring state will release 2 tm cft of water for the kharif and rabi crop seasons respectively from the Almatti dam to benefit the Solapur and Jatt regions in Maharashtra, according to officials.

The water-for-water exchange between the two states has already run into opposition shortly after the Maharashtra Government released around 9000 cusecs of water earlier this week from the Koyna dam.

Shamburaj Desai, a Shiv Sena MLA, hit out at the policy stating that release of water from the Koyna dam would deprive people from his Satara district.

"The water stock in the Koyna dam has fallen to 34.89 tm cft, which is 4.49 tm cft lower than last year," Desai wrote in a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. He added that release of water from the dam to Karnataka should be stopped immediately.

He cited the instances of areas in Satara district that were suffering from shortage of drinking water.

The Shiv Sena, which has a history of protests against 'outsiders', including South Indians, has backed its MLA. Sources say they could hold protests against Maharashtra’s Devendra Fadnavis government.

According to information available from the water resources department here, both Maharashtra and Karnataka are reeling from severe drought due to poor rainfall last year.