NEW DELHI, July 21: The Supreme Court today granted three weeks' breathing time to the Vajpayee government to find a solution to the Cauvery dispute but a way out of the mess is nowhere in sight in the face of rigid positions taken by both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.Angry Tamil Nadu MPs from all parties vented their anger on the government for seeking an adjournment in the apex court instead of notifying the draft scheme for the implementation of the interim award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. The AIADMK and its allies not only walked out of both Houses of Parliament but also boycotted proceedings for the day. A BJP Lok Sabha member from the state, Master Mathan, also joined the AIADMK in their walkout.The government is expected to soon convene a meeting of the chief ministers of the four basin states - Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Pondicherry - in a bid to bring about an agreement on the draft scheme. While Tamil Nadu wants the scheme to be notified immediately, Karnataka has expressedserious reservations about it.But convincing either Tamil Nadu or Karnataka to climb down from their respective stances is easier said than done. If there is no agreement between the two states on the scheme, the Centre might just report back the same to the Supreme Court and seek its help in resolving the dispute.Tempers ran high in the Lok Sabha when Tamil Nadu members maintained that the Government, rather than coming out with a quick solution to the problem, had sought adjournment of the matter.Even before the BJP could react to the sudden onslaught that began at the zero hour and continued for next 30 minutes, AIADMK leader Muthiah and his party colleagues walked out of the House. Soon they were followed by equally agitated DMK members.Parliamentary Affairs Minister M L Khurana's bid to appease the Tamil Nadu MPs had no impact whatsoever. ``There is no solution in sight,'' he pleaded, arguing that an adjournment had to be sought in the apex court as no state was willing to budge from itsrespective stand. Muthiah, however, held that ``the earlier, United Front Government had betrayed the people of Tamil Nadu. They are again being betrayed.'' In the Supreme Court, Attorney General Soli Sorabjee sought six weeks' time for finding a solution but the Supreme Court granted only three weeks while making it clear that this adjournment was the last and final one. It directed the government to inform the court on August 12 as to how long it would take for finding a solution.A three-judge bench comprising the Chief Justice M M Punchhi, Justice K T Thomas and Justice S S M Quadri adjourned the hearing after the Attorney General said that the Centre was hopeful of a solution and will discuss the matter at the highest level.During the course of hearing, one of the judges Justice K T Thomas (who hails from Kerala) excused himself from the bench after the Kerala government counsel P S Potti submitted that though the state was not directly concerned over the implementation of the apex court order ofApril 1997, it was interested in the principles regarding the framing of the scheme.
