Mohan V. Katarki, the Karnataka Counsel on inter-State river water disputes in the Supreme Court and tribunals is a specialist in river water matters. Apart from that of Karnataka he is fighting the river water disputes of Kerala, Punjab and Orissa.

In this interview withKatarki speaks at length on the vexed Cauvery issue fought primarily between the States of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and opines that the recent verdict of the Supreme Court will be cited in the federal water disputes and international water disputes around the world. The judgment is a great contribution to the law governing the riparian rights.

Fifty-Eight year old Katarki after handling both civil and criminal cases, has a specialised practice in Inter-State Water Law concerning sharing or allocation of waters between States of inter-state rivers. Among others, he represents Kerala in the Mullaperiyar dam dispute, the State of Orissa in the Vansadhara Water dispute and the State of Punjab in the Ravi Beas Water dispute.

Katarki has served as a Member of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore (2005-2008). At present, he is a member of the Advisory Board, Karnataka State Law University Students Law Review and the Board of Management and Planning, Karnataka State Law University. In 2009 he conducted a Single Credit Course in International Water Law for LLM students at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore.