The Karnataka government has disbursed a sum exceeding ₹87 crore to Senior Advocates Anil Divan, Fali S Nariman, SS Jawali, Shyam Divan, and Mohan Katarki as appearance fees for their legal representation in river water sharing disputes with other states over the past three decades.
Since 1990, the State government has remunerated these lawyers with a total of over ₹122 crore for their services in presenting cases pertaining to the allocation of Cauvery, Krishna, and Mahadayi river water before the Supreme Court and tribunals.
This information was disclosed by the State's Water Resources Department in response to a request for details made by activist Bhimappa Gundappa Gadad under the Right To Information Act (RTI Act).
The documents further reveal that a cumulative amount of ₹122,75,95,882 has been paid as fees to 41 lawyers for their arguments before the Supreme Court and tribunals. Late Senior Advocate Anil Divan received ₹29.78 crore, Fali Nariman was granted ₹27.45 crore, Mohan Katarki received ₹13.39 crore, SS Javali obtained ₹12.61 crore, and Shyam Divan was compensated with ₹4.63 crore.
Among the former Advocates General who represented the State in these matters, Ravivarma Kumar received a payment of ₹64.7 lakh, S Vijay Shankar received ₹13 lakh, Ashok Haranahalli received ₹2.1 lakh, and BT Parthasarathy received ₹1.5 lakh.
Madhusudan R Naik and Prabhuling K Navadgi, who also served as Advocates General, received payments of ₹1,57,58,000 and ₹23,54,215 respectively.
Supreme Court Advocate Brijesh Kalappa received a payment of ₹6,51,35,544, and Senior Advocate Uday Holla received ₹1,56,60,000.
The Central government established the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) on June 2, 1990, to resolve disputes between Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, and Puducherry. The data reveals that from June 2, 1990, to July 10, 2017, a total of ₹54.13 crore was paid as lawyers' fees in the Cauvery matter before the tribunal. A total of 580 sittings have been conducted.
Similarly, the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT) was established in 2004 to adjudicate disputes between Maharashtra, Karnataka, and the former Andhra Pradesh. From then until November 29, 2013, 295 hearings were held, and ₹43.24 crore was paid to lawyers, according to information disclosed under the RTI Act.
The Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal was constituted in 2010 to resolve disputes between Goa, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. Until December 1, 2017, 97 hearings were conducted, and ₹25.38 crore was paid to lawyers.
TAGS: KARNATAKA GOVERNMENT LAWYERS FESS GOVERNMENT LAWYERS FEES CAUVERY WATER DISPUTE
