Cauvery row: State paid Rs 25.80 crore

BANGALORE: The state government has paid Rs 25.80 crore to the advocates who have represented the state before the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal involving Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karnataka.   In a written reply to BJP member Ashwath Narayana, Water Resources Minister Basavaraj Bommai told the Legislative Council that the amount paid to advocates for arguing the state’s case was pertaining to the period from 1990 to 2011. While senior counsel Anil B Diwan was paid Rs 10.49 crore, others, including S S Jawali, were paid Rs 3.95 crore. Senior counsel F S Nariman was paid Rs 2.53 crore, Mohan V Katharki Rs 3.20 crore and Brijesh Kalappa ` 42.52 lakh.    After the Tribunal delivered its final verdict in February 2007, all the states involved in the dispute approached the SC questioning the verdict and appealed against the decision. The minister said all the states had approached the Tribunal seeking clarification on the verdict.