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TROUBLED WATERS TN to get more from Cauvery Tribunal's Verdict Out After 17 Years, Sparks Angry Protests In K'taka New Delhi: The Cauvery Tribunal on Monday finally delivered its much-awaited verdict on the highly politicised water-sharing dispute, hiking Tamil Nadu's share from 205 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) in the 1991 interim order to 419 tmcft. The order immediately led to angry protests from Karnataka which will now have to make do with 270 tmcft. The award on the long-festering dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka has also pegged shares of the other two riparian states with claims on the Cauvery waters, Kerala and Puducherry, at 30 tmcft and seven tmcft respectively. Karnataka, where the river originates, had asked for 465 tmcft. Not surprisingly, it was upset with the verdict which doubled Tamil Nadu's share. The upper riparian state had hoped that Tamil Nadu's share would be closer to the 205 tmcft interim award. The 419 tmcft allotted to Tamil Nadu is of a total of 740 tmcft in a normal year. While Tamil Nadu had asked for 562 tmcft, Karnataka had sought 465 tmcft. After giving Kerala and Puducherry their shares, the tribunal set aside 14 tmcft to flow into the sea for environmental reasons. The order passed by a three-member tribunal headed by retired Justice N P Singh after 17 years of proceedings triggered fears of violent protests reminiscent of the rioting that had rocked Bangalore after the 1991 order. Soon after the verdict was out, the Karnataka government clamped prohibitory orders, shut down schools and stopped buses plying to and from Tamil Nadu as a precautionary measure. Hinting at the route Karnataka may take, its lawyer Mohan Katarki said, "The judgment is good in parts, but the huge burden in the lean season is worrisome.'' He said the state was examining its options to appeal and would decide on it after reading the complete judgment. In the meantime, the authorities will have to guard against turbulence on the streets as the emotive issue has a history of triggering ethnic tensions. Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy is planning an all-party meet on the issue in order to generate a consensus and also to try and preempt parties from backing possibly violent protests which had earlier taken on an anti-Tamil hue. But with the JD(S)-BJP combine ruling the state, the protests may take on an anti-Centre dimension, putting the Congress in an awkward spot. This, despite the fact that its state leaders will be vying with their rivals to be in the forefront of the protests. In fact, supporters of former Congress CM S M Krishna, currently occupying the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai who has been eyeing a return to Karnataka politics, are already working on helping him to seize the opportunity. Genesis: The dispute is more than a century old. This legal fight began in July 1986 when TN asked the Centre to refer it to a tribunal after a farmers' association moved the supreme court. Several meetings and SC hearings later, the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal was finally constituted on June 2, 1990. It has held over 600 sittings over 17 years before reaching a final verdict on Monday Average availability of Cauvery basin: 740 tmcft DEMANDS Karnataka: 2/3 or 465 tmcft Tamil Nadu: 3/4 or 562 tmcft Order irks Karnataka New Delhi: The Cauvery dispute dates back to agreements between the erstwhile government of Mysore and the Madras Presidency signed in 1892 and again in 1924. The Cauvery Tribunal took advantage of the window provided by the 1924 agreement for a review to pass Monday's order. The final judgment will supersede the earlier agreements. The tribunal has devised a month-wise schedule for the release of waters, and Karnataka is especially aggrieved about what it is supposed to release for Tamil Nadu during June-September, a period when its own demand for irrigation peaks. As per the schedule, Karnataka has to release 182 tmc from June to January each year and an additional ten tmc for environmental reasons from February to May. The monthly release of the allocated water shall be controlled by a regulatory authority with the help of the states and the Central Water Commission for five years. The schedule can be altered in consultation with the parties involved only after that. The tribunal has laid down that no upper riparian state "shall take any action so as to affect the scheduled deliveries of water to the lower riparian states''. Maintaining the rights of states to manage their share within their boundaries, the tribunal said the judgment "shall not in any way alter the rights, if any, under the law...of any private individuals, bodies or authorities''. But it has laid down rules for measurement of water for domestic and municipal water supply as well as industrial use. TNN H D Kumaraswamy Karnataka CM We will take further action after holding an all-party meeting on Tuesday. I appeal to the people of Karnataka to remain calm M Karunanidhi Tamil Nadu CM I welcome the tribunal verdict. Justice has finally been done. We hope Karnataka will implement the tribunal order on water sharing Saifuddin Soz Central water minister The states have 3 months to appeal against the decision to the tribunal. States have the right to ask as to how to implement the decision Cauvery is the 4th longest river in the South after Godavari, Krishna & Mahanadi URL- http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDA3LzAyLzA2I0FyMDAxMDA=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom |
| Also see : Rainwater Harvesting, Water |
