Water row: state team to hold talks

BANGALORE: The state government on Sunday authorized its legal and technical teams to hold consultations with riprian states (Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra) in a bid to evolve a compromise formula regarding sharing of surplus Krishna waters.
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of floor leaders of both Houses of the legislature — Siddaramaiah, C Motamma and Bandeppa Kashempur — which was presided by chief minister B S Yeddyurappa.
Water resource minister Basavaraj Bommai told reporters that the Krishna Water Tribunal asked the riparian states — Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra — to find an amicable solution to the issue and hence, the government has asked its legal experts to work on a consensus formula.
The Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT) was constituted on April 2, 2004 to adjudicate the dispute relating to sharing of Krishna river water and river valleys thereof. The KWDT passed orders on June 9, 2006, asking the riparian states to work out a compromise formula while declining to give interim relief to Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as sought in their applications.