Centre submits Cauvery draft to SC, proposes 9-member panel

The Centre was obviously waiting for the Karnataka Assembly polling on Saturday as it submitted a draft scheme before the Supreme Court on Monday on implementation of the 2007 Cauvery Water Tribunal Award that was marginally tweaked by the court in February.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, took on record the draft. It fixed the next hearing on Wednesday, directing the state governments of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry to respond to the Centre's draft scheme.

Attorney General KK Venugopal wanted the Court to decide name of the authority to be set up since Tamil Nadu wants it to be called Cauvery Management Board (CMB) as envisaged in the 2007 award but Karnataka wants it to be Cauvery Decision Implementation Committee. He said the Centre did not decide the name as it is a “very sensitive issue in both the States.”

The draft scheme envisaged the proposed authority to be assisted by the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) for discharging its functions, in which the Centre will be the final arbiter as its decision will be "final and binding" if any of the four states does not cooperate in implementation by the authority.

The draft proposes a 9member authority headed by a chairman. There will be four part-time members from the four states besides two whole-time and two parttime members. The chairman, who can be either an eminent engineer or an IAS of secretary or additional secretary rank, will have a term of five years or until completing 65, whichever is earlier.

SC fixed the next hearing on Wednesday, directing the state governments of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry to respond to the Centre's draft scheme