Former IPS Officer C. Chandrashekar’s book throws light on decades-old legal problem

Mysore/Mysuru: Former IPS Officer and ex-Mysuru City Police Commissioner C. Chandrashekar, who authored the book ‘Kaveri Dispute: A Historical Perspective,’ shared his views on the long-standing inter-State water dispute at the ‘Meet-the-Author’ programme organised by the Mysore Literary Association at Rotary West Auditorium in city this morning.

Chandrashekar, who retired as IGP, shared his insights on the evolution of the Kaveri (Cauvery) water dispute and recalled how the dispute evolved in June 1991, following the verdict of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT), which ordered Karnataka to release 205 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of Kaveri water to Tamil Nadu and prohibited the expansion of the area under irrigation from 11.2 lakh acres of land.

“I was working at the intelligence wing then and I did not know much about the dispute. When I started doing a detailed study, it took me back to the documents of the British era to recent years. But the question arises, why now? If one has to wait for a legal solution, better we should know that the dispute has been dealt with under many legal authorities. The recent was the Supreme Court verdict in Feb. 2018 involving the States of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry,”                                                             said Chandrashekar.

He also spoke about his interactions with the late legal expert C.K.N. Raja, who had extensive knowledge about the Kaveri water dispute. Raja’s recent passing away was also acknowledged during the event, and a minute of silence was observed in his honour.

 Vice-President of Mysore Literary Association Rajagopal, Executive Committee Members A.K. Monnappa, Prof. Anita Vimala Braggs, Prof. Nirmala, P.V. Gopinath, Prof. Shivanna, Prof. Latha Biddappa, Dr. Damayanthi, Prof. M. Krishnegowda, Raghuram Vajpayee, senior journalist Krishna Prasad, Ashvini Ranjan of Pratham Mysuru and others were present.