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Chennai: Members of the Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Association being detained by police personnel during their protest demanding formation of a Cauvery management board in front of the Shastri Bhavan in Chennai on Monday. PTI Photo (PTI4_9_2018_000132B)[/caption]
New Delhi, April 9 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Centre for not framing a scheme to implement 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.”
Attorney General Venugopal told the court that there was some difficulty and they were examining whether a scheme for the implementation of the 2007 Cauvery award as slightly modified by the February 16 ruling should be headed by an administrative or a technical member.
Citing the ongoing election to the Karnataka Assembly and seeking 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 in February.
Tamil Nadu had moved the top court seeking contempt proceedings against the Central government for its “wilful disobedience” in carrying out its direction to set up a Cauvery Management Board (CMB) and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) as directed by the top court.
The Supreme Court by its February 16, 2018 verdict had slightly modified the 2007 Cauvery award and had directed the Centre to frame a scheme for its implementation by March 29.
Tamil Nadu had moved the top court on March 31.
The top court had reduced Tamil Nadu’s share of Cauvery water from 177.25 thousand million cubic feet (TMC), which was less than 192 TMC allocated by a tribunal in 2007. Karnataka’s share of water was increased by 14.75 TMC.
