SC asks Centre to file Cauvery mgmt scheme by May 3

The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to frame a draft Cauvery management scheme and file it by May 3 for implementation of its judgement on distribution of water among Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and other states.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra asked the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments to ensure that peace prevails till it finalises the Cauvery management scheme for implementation of its judgment on water distribution.

The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, was critical of the fact that despite a specific direction on the setting up of the scheme within six weeks, the Centre has been unable to do so.

It said the court had considered the award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) while deciding the water share of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry in its judgement.

Concurring with the grievances of Tamil Nadu, it said the entire judgment has to be complied with by all the stakeholders.

It said once the Centre places the draft scheme, which would also include Cauvery Water Management Board and Monitoring Authority, it would consider the grievances of all the stakeholder states.

The apex court, in its verdict, had asked the Centre to formulate a scheme to ensure compliance of its 465-page judgement on the decades-old Cauvery dispute. It had modified the CWDT award of 2007 and made it clear that it will not be extending time for this on any ground.

The top court had on February 16 raised the 270 tmcft share of Cauvery water for Karnataka by 14.75 tmcft and reduced Tamil Nadu's share, while compensating it by allowing extraction of 10 tmcft groundwater from the river basin, saying the issue of drinking water has to be placed on a "higher pedestal".

With the apex court's verdict, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Union Territory of Puducherry would be annually entitled to 404.25 tmcft, 284.75 tmcft, 30 tmcft and 7 tmcft of Cauvery water respectively out of the total of 740 tmcft.