Tamil Nadu Govt will move Supreme Court on Cauvery issue

Madurai/Chennai, March 30: The Tamil Nadu government will move the Supreme Court on the issue of constituting the Cauvery Management Board (CMB), Chief Minister K Palaniswami said on Friday.

Asked what kind of petition the state intended to file in the apex court, he told reporters in Madurai, "All that is still being discussed with legal experts." Palaniswami had yesterday chaired a meeting here with his senior cabinet colleagues, including Deputy Chief Minister O Paneerselvam, and officials, to discuss legal steps to be taken in this regard.

Thursday's meeting was held following the end of a six-week deadline given by the Supreme Court to the Centre to formulate a scheme on the Cauvery dispute.

Tamil Nadu's stand is that the Centre must constitute the CMB and Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee (CWRC) within six weeks from the day the apex court gave its verdict, which would be March 29. The Supreme Court had on February 16 pronounced its verdict on the vexed dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Underlining his government's commitment towards setting up of CMB and the CWRC, Palaniswami pointed out that his party MPs had vociferously taken up the matter in Parliament leading to the proceedings being stalled for over two weeks. "They (MPs) have been doing so to reflect the aspirations of the people of the state and armers," he added.

Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said in Chennai that the government has decided to approach the apex court on the matter.

"We are going to approach the Supreme Court... the government is holding discussions," he told reporters here.

Jayakumar said the government was committed to uphold the rights of the state and welfare of the farmers in the Cauvery issue. He, however, indicated the state might approach the apex court in a couple of days on this matter.

In its judgement on petitions by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the final order of the Cauvery water disputes tribunal apportioning the water among riparian states, the apex court had raised the 270 tmcft share of Karnataka by 14.75 tmcft and reduced Tamil Nadu's share.

The court had compensated Tamil Nadu by allowing extraction of 10 tmcft groundwater from the river basin.

Since the verdict, Tamil Nadu has been urging the Centre to set up the CMB and CWRC to ensure it received its due share of water from the inter-state river.

PTI