Cauvery: 'Centre has to frame the scheme and there is no escaping that', says SC

The Supreme Court has directed the Union Government to file a draft solution in connection with the Cauvery Waters case. The court is hearing a contempt plea filed by the Tamil Nadu government against the Centre on the Cauvery issue.

The plea states that the Centre failed to set up the Cauvery Management Board before the said deadline. The SC on Monday told the Centre to file a draft scheme by May 3 on how to implement its order. The draft would comprise the Centre plans to take on the distribution of water between Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

The court criticised the Centre for neither framing the scheme in six weeks as directed by the court. It also criticised the Centre for not approaching the court prior to the March 31 deadline to express its difficulty. The court said that the Centre had to frame the scheme and there is no escaping the task.

Further, the court asked the competent authority to maintain peace in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu till it gave the approval for the scheme for the implementation of the Cauvery Waters verdict.

One the Centre places the draft scheme, which was set up the Cauvery Water Management Board and the Monitoring Authority for ensuring monthly releases, it would take the view of the states before approving it.

The court also told Tamil Nadu that it agrees with the state's grievances and criticised the Centre for not acting with alacrity to frame the scheme.

The Centre then sought time beyond March 12 for framing the scheme as elections were on in Karnataka. The court, however, asked the Centre to report to it by May 3.

There are protests that are going on regarding this issue. The AIADMK MPs have played their role in disrupting Parliament seeking the constitution of the board.

On Sunday, the ongoing protests and the Tamil Nadu-Centre tussle over the Cauvery issue brought the two actors-turned-politicians Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan together on a common political platform. The leaders shook hands and sat together on the stage set for a silent march held by the South Indian Artists' Association along with other actors. Rajinikanth called upon the organizers of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to stop hosting the games in the city as such grand events would be embarrassing at a time the state is agitating.