Height Of Controversy

IT was perhaps wishful thinking. With a United Front (UF) Government at the Centre and its constituents in power in all four southern states, long-standing disputes between the states were expected to be resolved smoothly. But if the seemingly endless confrontation between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh over the Almatti dam height controversy—just as the former's dispute with Tamil Nadu over the Cauvery waters—is any indication, the UF partners seem hellbent on putting a spoke in each other's wheel to score political points.

The latest round of confrontation, where the two states have taken the dispute to the Supreme Court, was waiting to happen. Ever since Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda passed the buck when the dispute got too hot to handle last July, and sought the help of UF chief ministers Jyoti Basu, Laloo Yadav, M. Karunanidhi and P.K. Mahanta, Karnataka and Andhra were waiting for the report of the expert committee constituted by the chief ministers to examine the issue.

 And with the committee submitting a report to Basu that is favourable to Andhra Pradesh, the controversy has returned to haunt the 13-party coalition. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu demanded its implementation and filed a petition in the apex court, seeking a direction to Karnataka to desist from further construction on the Almatti dam across the Krishna in northern Karnataka. This has put Karnataka, which has decided to file a counter-petition, in a spot.

This time around, the technical dispute over Almatti—Karnataka wants to increase the height of the 1,680 ft dam by another 40 feet; Andhra claims that will only increase Karnataka's water intake—doesn't seem to matter as much as the stand of the expert committee that visited the Krishna basin in the two states. With the committee comprising engineers and experts from West Bengal, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Assam and none from the Union Water Resources Ministry or the Planning Commission, Karnataka has rejected the report as having no legal or official weight. Besides, Karnataka Chief Minister J.H. Patel has dubbed the report "completely wrong" with "false presumptions".

"The expert committee should have been more careful in going through the materials we placed before them. A more detailed consideration of the issue is called for," Patel reportedly said in a hard-hitting letter to Basu. According to Patel, the experts were clearly told that the additional height of the dam was to store water for hydel power generation and would be released to Andhra Pradesh after producing electricity. The committee has, however, said Karnataka sought to justify the extra height to get additional water for irrigation.

While all political parties in Karnataka unanimously passed a resolution in the state assembly rejecting the report, Naidu was hamstrung in Hyderabad by a lack of consensus. The Opposition Congress raked up the issue but stated that it was the responsibility of the Telugu Desam to fight it out with the Centre. Says P. Janardhana Reddy, Andhra CLP leader: "As a responsible Opposition, we have brought the issue to the notice of the ruling party. The ball is in their court. Naidu's TDP is an active partner in the UF and he should use his position to solve the problem."

That, however, seems easier said than done with Gowda stating that the two states must resolve it among themselves. Sources close to Gowda said though he tried to walk out of a tricky situation by asking Basu to constitute an expert panel, the strategy seems to have backfired. Solace for Gowda and Karnataka lies in the hope that the UF partners, especially the Left parties led by Harkishen Singh Surjeet, will prevent Naidu from precipitating matters. Last time, Surjeet successfully intervened to soften Naidu. Besides, K. Sivaprasad, Naidu's irrigation minister who had demanded that the TDP withdraw support to Gowda, was shifted to panchayati raj affairs. UF partners are also giving Naidu a long rope considering the pressure he is under for relaxing prohibition and the chronic power shortage in the state. Almatti may just help divert some attention. Which is good politics in the Andhra capital but a poor show of federal consensus.