The Supreme Court will hear on August 17 Tamil Nadu’s application for a direction to the Centre to convene a meeting of the Cauvery River Authority immediately to perform its statutory obligations and approve the distress sharing formula evolved by the Cauvery Monitoring Committee, in view of the distress situation in the State.
A Bench of Justices D.K. Jain and Madan B. Lokur fixed the date after senior counsel C.S. Vaidyanathan, appearing for Tamil Nadu, sought an early hearing. Initially Mr. Justice Jain told counsel it would not be possible for the court to direct the Prime Minister to convene the CRA. Mr. Vaidyanathan said that the court could make a request to the Prime Minister and cited past instances.
Senior counsel Fali Nariman, appearing for Karnataka, said: “Karnataka is agreeable to the meeting of the CRA being called, but reserves its right to raise all contentions before the said authority.”
The Bench then posted the matter for hearing on August 17.
In its application Tamil Nadu stated that though during current irrigation year 2012-2013 the southwest monsoon was not vigorous in the Cauvery catchment in Karnataka, that State received 21.9 TMCft of inflow in its four major reservoirs up to July 20. It did not share the water with Tamil Nadu but stored it in four major reservoirs and released it into the canals of the Krishna Raja Sagar for irrigation. As a result, Tamil Nadu was deprived of its share of water as per the interim order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.
“The deficit in realisation of flows in the Mettur dam as per the interim order has mounted to 36.15 TMCft as on July 20. The dam could not be opened on the scheduled date of June 12 and kuruvai crop taken up for cultivation.” Karnataka had impounded in its reservoirs 9.5 TMC up to July 20. Tamil Nadu pointed out that over the years Karnataka had not agreed to the distress sharing formula of the Central Water Commission/Cauvery Monitoring Committee with the result that it “resorts to impounding all flows in its reservoirs depriving the State of Tamil Nadu its legitimate flows, more so during the lean years, thus aggravating the distress situation”.
The applicant said: “The State of Karnataka, which is the upper riparian, is duty-bound to ensure the stipulated flows to Tamil Nadu during the irrigation season every year..”
Tamil Nadu sought a direction to the CMC to place before the CRA the distress sharing formula evolved, as already decided at the 24th meeting of the CMC, and direct the CRA to perform its obligations and also implement the order dated September 3, 2002 passed by the Supreme Court by convening its meeting immediately and approve the distress sharing formula evolved by the CMC, for the effective implementation of the interim order dated June 25, 1991.
via The Hindu Newspaper http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article3735183.ece
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