TN Assembly passes unanimous resolution on Cauvery issue

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution that urged the Centre to constitute Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Monitoring Committee.

Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu Assembly speaker P Dhanapal gave permission to convene Special Assembly meeting over Cauvery.

"Government intended to put forward a resolution and I have agreed to its demand," Dhanapal told reporters here.

Addressing the meeting, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Working President MK Stalin said, "Time has come for all party leaders to unite to get Cauvery water. The centre is bending Supreme Court's order as per its need."

In Delhi, some of the DMK MPs were seen wearing black dresses outside the Parliament on Thursday.

Even the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) MPs staged a protest in front of the Parliament over the same issue.

In Tamil Nadu, the DMK and other opposition parties opposed the Budget Session.

Speaking to reporters, Stalin said DMK legislators wore black shirts as a mark of protest on the inaction in setting up CMB and the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee (CWRC) as directed by the Supreme Court on February 16.

The top court on February 16 had ordered the central government to set up the CMB and the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee within six weeks.

However, the apex court's verdict decreased Tamil Nadu's share in the water body, much to the dismay of the people of the state.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami had expressed dissent over the Cauvery Water verdict, saying that the Supreme Court order reducing the allotment of water for the state from Cauvery river was 'disappointing.'

On February 22, Palaniswami urged Prime Minister Narendra to take an appropriate action for the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board.

The Chief Minister also urged the Prime Minister for implementing Cauvery regulation committee as per the Supreme Court guidelines.

The Prime Minister was in Chennai to launch Amma Two Wheeler Scheme here on the birth anniversary of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

The apex court in its much-awaited verdict on the decades-long dispute increased Karnataka's share of water and directed the state to release 177.25 TMC to Tamil Nadu.

Cauvery originates in Karnataka's Kodagu district, flows into Tamil Nadu, and reaches the Bay of Bengal at Poompuhar.

The Tamil Nadu government in 2016 sought the apex court's intervention, saying there was a deficit of 50.0052 TMC ft. of water released from Karnataka's reservoirs, with respect to the minimum limit prescribed by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.

The Cauvery tribunal recommended that the Cauvery Management Board be modelled after Bhakra Beas Management Board by the Centre unless an appropriate mechanism comes to place.