Chairman of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal Justice N P Singh has resigned from his post citing ill health. Sources in the water resources ministry said Justice Singh, 80, had sent his resignation papers earlier this week.
'The Cauvery river has become excessively politicised by all political parties.' 'They see a vote bank in an emotive issue of this kind.'
On October 18, the apex court had directed Karnataka to keep supplying Tamil Nadu with 2,000 cusecs of water till further orders.
The Tamil Nadu government welcomed the decision, hailing it as a 'grand victory for the 'Amma (Jayalalithaa) government' and the state's farmers'.
'Sharing of water from a river which flows through several states is a crucial challenge which comes in the way of maintaining the spirit of good neighbourly relations.'
Karnataka on Friday pleaded its inability in supplying Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu in line with the Supreme Court's directive saying the state itself is facing a shortage of drinking water.
In its plea, Karnataka had said its reservoirs are dry and it can only release water to Tamil Nadu by the end of the year.
The Congress leadership should have immediately called on the Karnataka chief minister to implement the Supreme Court order and crack down on the violence, says R Rajagopalan.
The Congress Core Group on Friday discussed the Cauvery dispute issue amid indications that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will take a final call on notifying the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal by month-end.
The Supreme Court had on Tuesday retained its direction to Karnataka to release 2,000 cusecs till further orders and asked the two states to ensure peace and harmony
The Supreme Court also asked the supervisory committee to decide on Tamil Nadu's plea in ten days from Monday.
Karnataka claims that that it has supplied 116.697 tmcft of Cauvery water, instead of 100.04 tmcft, to TN.
The verdict brings an end to the 16-year-old dispute but fears of violence loom large.
CM Siddaramaiah has called legislature session on September 23 to discuss the SC's direction.
The Centre also moved the apex court seeking modification of its earlier order asking it to constitute the Cauvery Water Management Board by Tuesday.
Karnataka on Thursday decided to file an 'original suit' and a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court challenging the February 5 final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal besides seeking clarificatory orders from the tribunal.
The emotional appeal and sane advise came from the bench when Tamil Nadu brought to the notice of the court that the Karnataka chief minister has said that not a drop of water will be released to it.
After six years, the final award of the Cauvery Waters Dispute Tribunal was notified on Wednesday. The move came after the Supreme Court rapped the Centre for delaying the decision. The apex court had set February 20 as the deadline to issue the notification.
The protests, which erupted after the Supreme Court refused to interfere with orders of the Cauvery Water Management Authority and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee directing the state to release 5,000 cusecs of water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, have intensified.
Ticking off the Centre for 'flouting the law' for the last five years, the Supreme Court On Monday set a February 20 deadline to notify Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award, saying it has no discretion or choice but to do so.
The Tamil Nadu government has approached the Supreme Court seeking around Rs 2,500 crore from Karnataka for loss of crops due to non-release of Cauvery water during the irrigation year 2012-13 as per the interim award of the Cauvery water disputes tribunal
The Supreme Court on Tuesday retained its direction to Karnataka to release 2000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu till further orders.
A decision to approve an amendment to the act was taken at the Union Cabinet's meeting held earlier this week. The amendment is likely to be introduced in Parliament in its next session.
The court said the authorities are required to ensure peace till it peruses the draft scheme and finalises it for proper distribution of Cauvery water.
Following is the chronology of events in the decades-old Cauvery water dispute matter in which the Supreme Court on Friday held that Karnataka will get 284.75 tmcft and Tamil Nadu 404.25 tmcft Cauvery water.
In anticipation of the award, police remained on alert in Bangalore, Mysore and Mandya districts in the Cauvery belt, to thwart any trouble.
There has been constant friction between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on the Cauvery waters issue, which assumes sharp political tones quite often which is often resolved by the bounty of monsoons.
Upping the ante against Karnataka for its refusal to release Cauvery water, Tamil Nadu has decided to file a contempt petition in Supreme Court besides seeking a direction for setting up two regulatory bodies to implement the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal's final award.
Karnataka, which is facing a political tug-of-war between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress-Janata Dal-Secular over government formation, had earlier made a failed bid to temporarily stall the finalisation of draft Cauvery management scheme.
The opposition Congress and Janata Dal Secular on Tuesday made a forceful plea in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly against notification of the 2007 Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award, underlining that the move would amount to grave injustice to the State's interests.
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on Monday sparred at the meeting of Cauvery supervisory committee in New Delhi over the latter's share of the Cauvery water.
The Cauvery monitoring committee, headed by Water Resources Secy DV Singh, met on Monday morning.
The bandh evoked near-total response in the Cauvery belt, particularly in the volatile districts of Mandya, Mysore and Chamarajnagar, but the overall situation remained calm.
The award fails on some crucial tests of equity, efficiency, technology and science, says water expert Himanshu Thakkar.
The Tribunal had on Tuesday last refused to hear clarificatory applications filed by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry.
He claimed that a couple of days ago Karunanidhi had reportedly said in Thanjavur that the award was more advantageous to Tamil Nadu than to Karnataka.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and insisted on demands pertaining to the state, including on Fair Recovery Price of sugarcane, All India Institute of Medical Sciences for Raichur, the release of flood relief among others.
Asked whether Tamil Nadu wanted early notification of the final award, he said that after the stipulated 90 days time, the state would insist on the Tribunal for the speedy implementation of the final award.
Finding fault with the method adopted by the CWDT in calculating the award, Kerala complained that the tribunal had taken the starting point, the inequitable imperial treaties of 1892 and 1924 to which the state was never a party.
As the House re-assembled at 1600 hours, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee appealed to members to discuss the contentious water-sharing issue in a dispassionate and responsible manner.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances