Forget politics, says man who sought legal remedy

CHENNAI: The final verdict by the Cauvery River Water Tribunal has been received with joy by the delta farmers in Tamil Nadu. ���Cauvery is a deficit river and it can���t satisfy every state. Given the circumstances, the tribunal has done justice to everyone,��� Cauvery Delta Farmers��� Welfare Association general secretary S Ranganathan told ET from Thanjavur. ���The tribunal has in fact tried to improve upon the interim award as well as that of the ���assessors report���, which was made public last year.���

���The sharing of the water, as awarded in the final verdict, has been done on an equitable basis and justice has been done. From here on, politics should end and the mindset should change. Let���s sit together and plan our strategy, instead of fighting with each other. I want to be fair for every farmer in every state,��� said Mr Ranganathan, who actually moved the court to resolve the issue in the 70s.

He said, the available water can always be shared with better water management, including seeking World Bank aid. The dispute over the water has actually prevented World Bank from extending its aid to the Cauvery water management project so far. ���Let���s move ahead with a positive attitude, not just in thinking but also in action,��� he said.

The Tamil Nadu government in a statement issued here on Monday said that the state stands to get 210 tmc ft of water from Cauvery, as per the Tribunal���s final verdict, as against the 205 tmc ft awarded to the state in the interim award in 1991.

According to the statement, the total water flowing through Cauvery as well as its tributaries, is taken into account to arrive at the total water available from the river. As per this, the total water available comes to 740 tmc ft.

Professor S Janakarajan of the Madras Institute of Development Studies and a member of Global Water Partnership as well as India Water Partnership said the verdict was not too different from the interim award, adding that he was awaiting more details on timing of release of water and on the suggested mechanisms during distress situations.

What happens when Karnataka doesn���t have enough water, he asked. Also, the timing of the water is important, adding that June to September were the crucial months. ���These observations are based on available information,��� he added.