K’taka takes a hit again, told to send water to TN
‘ Release 6K cusecs for 3 days’
The Supreme Court asked Karnataka on Tuesday to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water in the next three days despite a unanimous Assembly resolution passed by the state that it cannot spare water for Tamil Nadu.
The court also called for a political solution to the “impasse” by convening a meeting of the Centre and the two chief ministers. The Cauvery has been a source of tension and violence between the two states. One person was killed in police firing during protests in Bengaluru a fortnight ago.
“We are sure that Karnataka shall obey the order without any impediment till we take up the matter on September 30,” the court said.
Karnataka had sought modification of the court order asking it to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, saying it could release the water only by the end of the year. The bench, on being repeatedly pursued by Tamil Nadu to get its orders enforced, said, “Have patience for a few days. This is not an ordinary litigation. Let us see how things shape up.”
In 1991, an interim court order telling Karnataka to release water to Tamil Nadu sparked riots against Tamils in Bengaluru that left over 18 people dead.
Despite the resolution passed by the Karnataka Legislative Assembly that no water will be released as it is required for drinking water purposes, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for three days from Wednesday and said this will be adjusted in future orders.
A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Uday Lalit brushed aside the arguments of senior counsel Fali Nariman for Karnataka that the Executive is in the horns of a dilemma as a resolution has been passed by the Assembly not to release water which is meant only for drinking water requirements.
The bench also accepted the suggestion of attorneygeneral Mukul Rohatgi that the Centre can facilitate a meeting of the chief ministers of two states to resolve the issue if the two states agreed for such talks.
The bench asked the Centre to convene a meeting of the two CMs in the next two days and report the outcome to the court on Friday.
Hearing two applications by Karnataka, seeking