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A matter of some relief

The decision of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal to close the hearing and reserve its final order in the inter-State dispute over sharing of the Cauvery waters has brought some cheer to the southern States and their farmers. An unseemly difference of opinion between the Chairman and its members threatened to delay the final award of the Tribunal. By a majority decision, the two members wanted to pass orders on the assessors' reports. But now, with Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, and Pondicherry making it clear they are not interested in any further arguments, and the assessors also submitting that there was no occasion to initiate or circulate any report, the Tribunal has decided not to prolong the hearing process. It had earlier sought another six-month extension of its tenure to complete its work. The Cauvery dispute has taken an extremely slow moving and tortuous course, and any prolonging of the hearings before the Tribunal that was constituted on June 2, 1990, would have been unpardonable. Its extended tenure expires on August 6 and the Centre may have to give it a few more months to enable it to frame its final orders. The frustration among the riparian States and their farmers has reached a stage when even the prospect of a final order, whatever its shape, is viewed with enthusiasm. An interim award was given on June 25, 1991, but it remains on paper and the situation has very often been saved by the bounty of the monsoons.

Among the inter-State disputes in the country, the Cauvery dispute has perhaps been one of the oldest and very well documented, historically. The dispute dates back to at least 1892, and an amicable settlement among the riparian States still remains elusive. Over the years, the States have spent crores of rupees in agitating over this very sensitive dispute. It is quite another issue whether the final award of the Tribunal will be implemented in its letter and spirit. Unless the final award is unanimous, it will not carry enough weight or authority. It remains to be seen if the States, which are parties to the dispute, accept or challenge the award. The Centre has to come up with a mechanism to implement such awards and continuously monitor their implementation. While there may be no problem when the Southwest and Northeast monsoon rains are bountiful, the drought years will pose the major challenge. There has to be a reasonable and fair formula for water-sharing in those deficit years that treats the farmers of all the riparian States equitably. Justice N.P. Singh, the Chairman, and N.S. Rao and Sudhir Narain, the members of the Cauvery tribunal, have their work cut out, and a wealth of information and documents to guide them. The States and the farmers are looking up to them for a unanimous verdict and the challenge is to come up with one that is at once fair and acceptable all round. The experience so far has not exactly been encouraging. The Centre too needs to play a more active role in getting the award accepted and implemented if the States are not to lose faith in such institutions.

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