The Hindu : Front Page : Cauvery tribunal gets 1 year extension

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 03, 2005

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Cauvery tribunal gets 1 year extension

J. Venkatesan

The present tenure ends on August 5; tribunal has held over 440 days of hearing

NEW DELHI: The Centre has extended till August 5, 2006, the term of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal to complete its inquiry and submit the final award. The tribunal's present tenure ends on August 5.

Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Pondicherry are the parties before the tribunal set up on June 2, 1990 at the instance of Tamil Nadu, which had represented before the Centre in July 1986. The tribunal comprises Chairman Justice N.P. Singh and members N.S. Rao and Sudhir Narain.

The gazette notification said the Inter-State Water Disputes Act was amended in August 6, 2002, whereby submission of report and decision by the tribunal was made time-bound — the report shall be submitted in three years with provision for extension of one year. In the light of this amendment, the Cauvery tribunal had requested the Government to extend the period of submission of report and decision for one more year, with effect from August 6.

The tribunal gave its interim award on June 25, 1991 directing Karnataka to release 205 tmcft of water annually to Tamil Nadu. The Cauvery River Authority was set up in 1998 to implement the award.

In the 5 years of its existence, the tribunal held over 440 days of hearing. Tamil Nadu filed 18 volumes of documents before the tribunal running into about 3,000 pages, 10 volumes of technical information, exhibits of 1,662 witness statements, 50 notes on submissions, 13 compilation of case laws and documents and 57 statements to substantiate its claim that the State's requirement was 562 tmcft of water. Karnataka filed an equal number of documents to rebut Tamil Nadu's claim while asserting that it required only 253 tmcft of water.

Presently, Karnataka is replying to Tamil Nadu's submissions on equitable distribution of water. It will require another 10 days to complete the arguments. While Tamil Nadu took 53 days, Karnataka will complete its submissions in about 40 days. Thereafter, Tamil Nadu will take roughly 20 days to reply, Kerala 8 days and Pondicherry, two to three days. Then the States will argue minor issues.

Sources say the delay in the submission of report is because the tribunal is conducting hearings for only eight days in a month. Going by the present schedule, it may not be possible for all the States to complete their arguments at least till the first quarter of 2006. Only thereafter will the tribunal will be able to concentrate on submission of the final award.

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