CWMA unbiased platform for water sharing, says Union Jal Shakti Minister

CHENNAI: Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Tuesday said the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) is a better water management authority that ensures sharing of water in an “unbiased manner” among the stakeholder states.

The members comprising representatives from the stakeholder states, of the authority have meet 19 times last year to discuss on the availability of water in the distress time and arrived at discussion to share the water on pro-rata basis, the Union Minister told reporters during the inauguration of two-day national level conference - All India Secretaries Conference on Water Vision 2047- Way Ahead.

Shekhawat made this statement in the presence of state Water Resource Minister Duraimurugan, who had made a statement in September last year that the Union government and the CWMA were acting in a biased manner in the Cauvery issue.

The department has taken several initiatives on identifying over exploited and critical zones that have paid off drastically. The number of over exploited and critical zones has reduced drastically, while the safe zone has increased by 10 per cent, said Shekhawat.

They have reduced the frequency of publishing reports on ground water level and made it an annual affair; the Minister said and added that the national level conferences and seminars have also helped the department to find solutions to ensure a safe future for the nation.