Cauvery panel to meet in city tomorrow
NEW DELHI (DHNS): A high-level panel headed by Central Water Commission (CWC) chairman G S Jha will hold its preparatory meeting in Bengaluru on Friday.
“The team will meet in Bengaluru at 9.30 am on October 7 for a preparatory meeting and subsequent visit to the Cauvery basin area for assessing the ground realities and submitting a report to the Supreme Court on October 17,” said a statement from the Union Ministry of Water Resources.
The team will comprise CWC member S Masood Husain, Krishna and Godavari basin organisation chief engineer R K Gupta, Chief Secretary or his representative from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and one Chief Engineer each from the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Union Territory of Puducherry, said the statement.
The Ministry has instructed all Cauvery basin states to nominate their representatives for the team and ensure that the officials reach Bengaluru on Thursday. The central team will also arrive in Bengaluru on Thursday, sources said.
The state government on Wednesday constituted a three-member team of officials to coordinate with the high- level technical team of the Centre, which is scheduled to assess the ground reality in the Cauvery basin area on October 7.
The team comprises Principal Secretary to Water Resources Department Rakesh Singh, Cauvery Niravari Nigam Managing Director Chikkarayappa and Water Resources department Chief Engineer, Mysuru Division, Shivashankar.
The state’s team will accompany the technical team on its visit to the basin region and provide necessary information, a source in the government said.
Team of ministers
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is learnt to have told his Cabinet colleagues that he would form a team of ministers to coordinate with the technical team.