SC directs Centre to set up tribunal for Pennaiyar river water dispute

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to constitute a tribunal for adjudicating a dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over sharing the water of the Pennaiyar River, and issue an appropriate notification in the matter within a month.

The direction came from a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and N V Anjaria.

"We find no reason to refrain from directing the Central government to issue an appropriate notification in the official gazette and to constitute a water disputes tribunal for the adjudication of the inter-se water dispute between the parties herein within a period of one month from today," Justice Nath said while pronouncing the order.

 

The Tamil Nadu government moved the top court in 2018 through its original suit filed against Karnataka over work being done on check dams and diversions on the river.

It said the water in an interstate river was considered a national asset and no state can claim exclusive rights over it.

The Tamil Nadu government had said the 1892 agreement on the river water was binding on the party states and Karnataka, which cannot be allowed to proceed with erecting check dams and creating diversions without furnishing any details about the nature of the construction work it is carrying out, or obtaining the consent of the riparian state.