Border row: Maharashtra threatens to cut off water supply to Karnataka

The border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka turns uglier by the day. On Wednesday, Maharashtra minister Shambhuraj Desai warned Karnataka that his state would have to “rethink” water supply from its dams to the neighbour if the latter’s Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai did not stop making “irresponsible statements.”

The Maharashtra government appointed Cabinet members Desai and Chandrakant Patil as nodal ministers last month to coordinate with the legal team for the court case related to the border dispute. Addressing reporters in the Vidhan Bhavan complex in Nagpur, Desai slammed Bommai over the Karnataka government’s stand that “not an inch of land” will be given to Maharashtra.

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The Karnataka legislature has reiterated the state’s stand that the border issue is a settled one and not an inch of land will be given to the neighbouring state. During a debate on the border dispute in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, CM Bommai himself suggested passing a unanimous resolution in both Houses of the state legislature reiterating and asserting the stand.

“Bommai shouldn’t provoke us”

Desai said he condemns such comments, which do not suit Bommai, as he holds a constitutional post. When the case is sub-judice, a chief minister using such “threatening language” is not good and he should stop it, he said. “Even Maharashtra can reply in the same language, and he should not provoke us,” Desai said.

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He added that Maharashtra was remaining patient, and the Karnataka CM should keep in mind that the southern state is dependent on water supply from the Koyna and Krishna dams (in Maharashtra) during the March-April dry season.

“If Karnataka does not stop (making such statements), Maharashtra will have to rethink the water being supplied to the neighbouring state,” Desai said. Maharashtra stands firm with the Marathi-speaking people residing in the border areas, he added.

NCP’s water warning

On Tuesday, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Jayant Patil said Maharashtra should raise the height of the upstream dams to “rein in” Karnataka.

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The border issue dates back to 1957 when the states were reorganised on linguistic lines. Maharashtra laid claim to Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. It also laid claim to more than 800 Marathi-speaking villages that are currently part of Karnataka.

Karnataka maintains the demarcation done on linguistic lines following the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report is final.

(With agency inputs)