The Hindu : National : T.N. concludes arguments before Cauvery tribunal

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Wednesday, Mar 08, 2006

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National

T.N. concludes arguments before Cauvery tribunal

J. Venkatesan

Pleads for the setting up of a Cauvery Valley Authority

New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu Government on Tuesday concluded its arguments before the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal by pleading for the setting up of an authority to implement the final award of the tribunal.

Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Pondicherry are the parties before the tribunal comprising the Chairman, Justice N.P. Singh, and members N.S. Rao and Sudhir Narain.

Appearing for Tamil Nadu, senior counsel C.S. Vaidyanathan argued that the tribunal, while giving its final award, should establish an authority, to be known as the Cauvery Valley Authority, to give effect to and implement the final award.

Counsel told the tribunal that Karnataka had flouted the interim award all these years and Tamil Nadu had to approach the Supreme Court every time. It was also explained that the mechanism of the Cauvery River Authority had failed all these years as it could not implement the interim award.

The Cauvery Monitoring Authority also could not evolve a distress formula to share water during distress situations.

Therefore, counsel said, the authority should be vested with powers to frame rules and regulations for all the reservoirs and diversion works in the system. Directions should be incorporated in the final award on the constitution and implementation machinery with powers of enforcement.

The authority should have powers not only to implement the final award but also ensure carry-over storage of waters in the reservoirs.

Quoting various judgments of the courts in the U.S., it was submitted that Tamil Nadu is entitled to damages to compensate for the loss suffered by it all these years due to the denial of its legitimate requirements. Counsel said Tamil Nadu is entitled to irrigate 29.269 lakh acres and its total water requirement from the Cauvery is 555 tmcft as against the interim award of 205 tmcft.

Refuting the contention of Karnataka that it requires 465 tmcft of water, counsel said Karnataka's requirement for irrigating about 14.315 lakh acres and for drinking purposes will be only around 174 tmcft.

Tamil Nadu urged the tribunal not to allow lift irrigation schemes in Karnataka.

Karnataka began its reply and is expected to complete it in a couple of days.

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