Verdict in Cauvery water dispute in four weeks, says SC

Cauvery is an inter-state basin that originates in Karnataka and flows through Tamil Nadu on to Puducherry and finally into the Bay of Bengal. The sharing of its water has been “a source of conflict between the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka”. “The genesis of this conflict rests in two agreements in 1892 and 1924 between the erstwhile Madras Presidency and Kingdom of Mysore,” an official said.

The SC had reserved its verdict on the appeals filed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala against the 2007 award of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal (CWDT) on sharing of water after hearing on September 20 last year. The court’s comments came during the hearing of a plea filed in 2016 by a citizens’ group led by philanthropist Kiran Mazumdar Shaw seeking its intervention for supply of drinking water to residents of Bengaluru and surrounding districts.

Shaw, who is the chief of the group Bangalore Political Action Committee (BPAC), and former Infosys director Mohandas Pai had told the court that citizens of Bengaluru required adequate drinking water and their right to life needed to be protected by the top court.

Last year, the SC had dismissed the plea seeking compensation from both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments for the loss of property during the Cauvery dispute. On January 9, the Tamil Nadu government had sought a compensation of Rs 2,480 crores from Karnataka for not releasing water to the state despite getting the Supreme Court directive to do so. The apex court then directed Karnataka to release 2,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu.

(With PTI inputs)