Centre notifies Cauvery Water Management Authority

New Delhi: The Centre on Friday, 1^st June 2018,  took the formal steps for notifying the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) for implementation of the Cauvery Water Tribunal Award on sharing of waters between Tamil Nadu, Karanataka, Kerala and Puducherry.

“The notification has been sent to the government press for being notified. It should be notified today (Friday) itself,” Water Resources Secretary U.P. Singh told IANS.

The Centre’s action comes less than a fortnight after the Supreme Court gave its nod for CWMA for the implementation of the 2007 Cauvery Tribunal Award after the government placed the scheme following the completion of assembly elections in Karnataka.

The central government had earlier taken the stand that it was not in a position to formulate the scheme in view of the sensitivity of the elections in Karnataka.

On May 18, a bench of the Supreme Court had observed that the draft scheme of the government was in consonance with the dictum and directions in the Award, as modified by this court and also in conformity with Section 6A of the 1956 Act.

It asked the Centre to take the scheme forward to its logical end in accordance with law with utmost dispatch and be notified before the monsoon season sets in on June 1.

Replying to a question, the Water Resources Secretary said what is being notified is what the Supreme Court had accepted.

The Supreme Court, in its judgement, has brought out the entire scheme actually, he added.

Asked about further steps, Mr. Singh said the ministry will be writing to the states concerned to nominate their representatives on the authority and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee.

“I have also requested Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture to nominate their officer and there are a few officers to be nominated by our ministry. As soon as we get the nomination from states and Agriculture Ministry, then we will constitute the authority and the committee,” he said.

He said the authority will take shape in a few days time.

Under the draft scheme presented to the court, the authority, which will be headquartered in Delhi, would be the sole body to implement the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award - aimed at distribution of Cauvery waters between the party states as modified by the apex court. The Centre would have no say in it except for issuing administrative advisories to it.

The CWMA will be assisted in the discharge of its functions by a Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) located in Bengaluru, mandated to collect daily water levels, inflows and storage position at Hemavathy, Harangi, Krishnarajasagara, Kabini, Mettur, Bhavanisagar, Amaravathy and Banasurasagar reservoirs.

Supreme Court pulls up Centre for not framing Cauvery scheme

Supreme Court pulls up Centre for not framing Cauvery scheme

New Delhi:  The Supreme Court on Monday, 9^th April 2018 pulled up the Centre for not framing the Cauvery water-sharing scheme by March 29, 2018, the deadline given by the court.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra ordered the Centre to submit a draft of the scheme before the court on May 3.

Attorney General K.K. Venugopal agreed to submit the scheme before the time limit.

“The directions of the Supreme Court should be complied with... surprised that scheme was not framed by you. You are obliged. We passed the judgment after much difficulty,” said Chief Justice Misra.

The apex court also urged the people of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to maintain calm to allow the court “to put its final stamp on the scheme.”

“ Prove your bonafide to end the inter-State dispute by framing the Cauvery scheme,” said Chief Justice Misra. “Please remember. Our order has to be complied with. Everytime the Supreme Court cannot monitor. That is why we want you to frame the scheme. You file the scheme before us. You better implement our decree.”

On Tamil Nadu’s insistence for the setting up of the Cauvery Management Board, the Chief Justice said, “The statute says ‘scheme.’ Our judgment says ‘scheme.’.

Tamil Nadu’s counsel responded, “But the 'scheme' must ultimately provide for a Board or an implementing authority,”  The Chief Justice agreed to it.

Cauvery Verdict: Supreme Court Relief to Karnataka

Cauvery Water Dispute: Supreme Court Relief to KARNATAKA

 New Delhi: The Supreme Court in its final judgment regarding Cauvery Water Disputes on Friday, 16^th February 2018, said that Karnataka will get additional 14.75 TMC of cauvery water, Tamil Nadu will now get 177.25 instead of 192 TMC water.

The court considered the water scarcity in Bengaluru while delivering the Cauvery judgment and also said no deviance shall be shown by any state to the order.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra gave the cauvery verdict while hearing Karnataka’s Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal’s grant of a water-sharing formula between Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

The Cauvery verdict is being read read out by Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra. Karnataka's advocates Mohan Katarki, Brijesh Kalappa and AG Madhusudhan Naik are present in court.

Karnataka will provide 177.25 TMC water to Tamil Nadu. Which means that Karnataka will get an additional 14.75 TMC as compared to the previous 2007 order, where it was to give 192 TMC to TN.

Bengaluru will receive an additional 4.2 TMC of water. "The pre-independence agreement is valid. Karnataka gets additional water keeping in mind the water shortage that Bengaluru is facing. A Cauvery Water Management board will be set up and they will have control over water allocation, and not the states," says Supreme Court.

"Karnataka's share has been significantly enhanced. Share of Tamil Nadu has been reduced. Bengaluru gets additional water. It will a huge relief to the people of Bengaluru," says Brijesh Kalappa, Karnataka's counsel.

The Supreme Court has decided to set up a Cauvery Water Board to look into the allocation and timely release of the water to all parties concerned. The Karnataka counsels, while talking to the media, are saying that the judgment is very favourable to them. Especially taking into account the water shortage in Bengaluru. 

The Supreme Court has said that the verdict will remain in force for 15 years, after which the apex court will monitor the implementation.

Bengaluru is second in a list of 11 cities apart from Cape Town facing the threat of running out of water based on an UN-backed study, published by the BBC.

The water share for Kerala and Puducherry remain unchanged as DMK MLA Durai Murugan has termed the verdict a 'shocker'.

Bengaluru is a growing city, hence more water is needed. Without reading the complete judgment, we cannot come to a conclusion. The Supreme Court has kept in mind the need of Bengaluru city. This judgment is satisfactory," says Congress leader, Mallikarjun Kharge.

Meanwhile, all buses on Mysore-Coimbatore and Ooty sector have been stopped.

Security has been beefed up in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka. Security has been heightened in Bengaluru with city police commissioner T Suneel Kumar saying that 15,000 police personnel have been deployed. In addition to this, personnel of Karnataka State Reserved Police and other forces are also on the ground.