Cauvery Water: Tamil Nadu happy at notification, protest begins in Karnataka

NEW DELHI | CHENNAI | BANGALORE: After six years, the Centre has notified the final award of the Cauvery Waters Dispute Tribunal. According to the tribunal Tamil Nadu would receive 419 TMC of water (as against the demand of 562 TMC); Karnataka 270 TMC (as against its demand of 465 TMC); Kerala 30 TMC and Puducherry 7 TMC. For environmental protection, it had reserved 10 TMC.

The move came after the Supreme Court rapped the Centre for delaying the decision and had on February 4 set February 20 as the deadline to issue notification. The notification was dated February 19.

In no time, Karnataka chief minister Jagadish Shettar said unless the civil appeals are disposed of by the Supreme Court, the Cauvery Management Board should not be set up, even as protests broke out in some parts of the state following the development.

“The central government should not set up CMB unless the civil appeals in the matter are disposed of by the Supreme Court,” he told reporters here when asked about the notification of the final award.

The Tribunal, comprising chairman Justice NP Singh and members NS Rao and Sudhir Narain, in a unanimous award in February 2007 had determined the total availability of water in the Cauvery basin at 740 thousand million cubic feet at the Lower Coleroon Anicut site. The proceedings of the Tribunal, set up in June 1990, went on for more than 16 years.

The tribunal’s award will come into effect within 90 days of its notification by the Centre. As per law, the award comes into being after being notified by the Centre through its publication in a gazette.

After the issuance of the notification, institutions like the Cauvery River Authority chaired by the PM and CMC will cease to exist. New organisations like the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee will be constituted that will have representatives from all the co-basin states, experts in hydrology and agriculture. They will be headed by an officer of the central government and will be under the control of the Centre.

While Tamil Nadu had been demanding an early notification, Karnataka was opposed to it, saying till the times cases filed by it in the Supreme Court are settled, the notification should be kept in abeyance. Earlier, the Centre had set itself a deadline of December 31, 2012 to notify the Cauvery award.