New Delhi: The Supreme Court today agreed to hear next week Tamil Nadu government’s plea seeking release of 50 TMC of water from Karnataka to meet its irrigation demands in the backdrop of the Cauvery water row.
A bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur posted the matter for September 2 after Tamil Nadu government mentioned it and sought an urgent hearing.
In the petition, Tamil Nadu has charged Karnataka with diverting water meant for farmers during distress years for undeclared projects, in violation of the final orders of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal in 2007.
It has sought directions to Karnataka to release 50.052 TMC feet of Cauvery water to irrigate the farmland of Tamil Nadu in the “interest of justice.”
The plea also sought the court’s intervention to ensure that Karnataka adhered to the stipulated water releases in accordance with the 2007 order of Tribunal for the remaining months, starting from August 20 in the irrigation year of 2016-2017.
Meanwhile, a separate bench comprising Justices Gopala Gowda and Adarsh Kumar Goel posted before the apex court Registar a bunch of petitions and cross-petitions relating to the implementation of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) award, filed by various parties, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
A detailed list of 17 agreed draft issues, including whether the suit for damages filed by Tamil Nadu was maintainable under Article 131 of the Constitution, was also filed before the bench which posted the matter before the Registrar for completion of proceedings.
Earlier, the apex court had refused to give an urgent hearing to a plea of Tamil Nadu government for setting up the Cauvery Management Board for implementation of the CWDT award.
(Sourced from agencies, Feature image courtesy:oneindia.com)
