SC orders Centre to frame Cauvery scheme by May 3

new delhi — The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Centre for not framing a scheme for the implementation of its verdict on the sharing of Cauvery river water as it declined its plea for deferring the issue by three months.

Asking the Centre to draft the scheme by May 3, a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said: “You must show your bonafide that you will frame a scheme to respect the top court order for the distribution of water.”

Asking Attorney General K.K. Venugopal to file the scheme as ordered by the apex court by its February 16 judgement, Chief Justice Misra said: “You must file it... they are bound to do it and obliged to it.”

Citing the ongoing election to Karnataka assembly and seeking some clarifications, the Centre had sought three months time to frame the scheme for the implementation of Cauvery award which was slightly modified by the apex court by its February judgement. Appearing for Tamil Nadu, senior counsel Shekhar Naphade told the court that “your order was so clear that even a person having an elementary knowledge of English could understand it. But for reasons better known to Union of India, only they can’t understand it.”

The court said the authorities are required to ensure peace till it peruses the draft scheme and finalises it for proper distribution of Cauvery water.

The apex court, in its verdict, had asked the Centre to formulate a scheme to ensure compliance of its 465-page judgement on the decades-old Cauvery dispute. It had modified the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) award of 2007 and made it clear that it will not be extending time for this on any ground.

The top court had on February 16 raised the 270 tmcft share of Cauvery water for Karnataka by 14.75 tmcft and reduced Tamil Nadu’s share, while compensating it by allowing extraction of 10 tmcft groundwater from the river basin, saying the issue of drinking water has to be placed on a “higher pedestal”.

With the apex court’s verdict, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Union Territory of Puducherry would be annually entitled to 404.25 tmcft, 284.75 tmcft, 30 tmcft and 7 tmcft of Cauvery water respectively out of the total of 740 tmcft.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Law Minister C.V. Shanmugham on Monday expressed satisfaction over the Supreme Court order and said “good” will arise out of it.

“We believe good will arise out of today’s order,” he told reporters after the apex court ordered to the Centre.

Replying to questions by reporters, he said he did not feel it would be a delaying factor.

Shanmugham said the contempt plea filed by the Tamil Nadu government was not done with a view to punishing anyone but to get the February 16 judgement implemented effectively. —