Supreme Court all set to give Cauvery Board final shape soon

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday brought a second round of litigation between the warring riparian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to an end when it declared that it would give final shape to Cauvery Water Management Board by Friday. “If it cannot be done on Friday, it will be done by July 22, 23,” a three-judge bench led by CJI Dipak Misra said.

The court rejected a last-ditch attempt by Karnataka to raise fresh objections against the revised scheme proposed by the central government to implement the Cauvery Tribunal award.

Tamil Nadu had protested against these objections on the ground that it was just a stalling tactic to avoid release of water to it. “Every year is a distress year for Karnataka,” Tamil Nadu senior advocate Shekhar Naphade argued. Karnataka through senior advocate Shyam Divan raised new objections to the scheme, including a declaration that the newly-created body should not come in the way of states regulating the water available within their territories.