The meeting of all-party MPs from Karnataka, held in Bangalore yesterday, took a decision on the expected lines: it appealed to the Centre not to constitute the Cauvery Management Board as it might ‘eat into’ Karnataka’s interests. Karnataka’s Congress chief-minister Siddaramaiah presided over the meeting.

It may be recalled that while taking up review petitions filed by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry against the 2007 verdict of the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal, the Supreme Court directed the Centre in February to constitute a Cauvery Management Board within six weeks.  Karnataka opposed the idea within a few minutes of the apex Court’s verdict.

Karnataka made known its reservations to Union Water Resources Secretary when he convened a meeting in New Delhi a fortnight back to talk to the concerned States. In the meantime, Siddaramaiah headed an all-party MPs meeting in Bangalore which decided unanimously to pressurize the Centre from setting up a Cauvery Management Board as it would ‘eat into’ Karnataka’s interests in a big way.

The meeting also decided not to file a review petition with the apex Court in the case, based on the advice of legal luminaries including Folly Nariman. It may be recalled that an all-party meeting held in Tamil Nadu a few days back urged the Centre to speed up the process of setting up the Cauvery Management Board.