THANJAVUR: The Tamil Nadu Cauvery family, which arranged exchange of visits by farmers of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to find a solution to the Cauvery issue in the past, has decided to support the Tamil Nadu government for any legal action, as may be required, in case, the Supreme Court verdict on Cauvery is not implemented in its full spirit and as per the letter of the law.
Members of the family who spoke at the urgently convened meeting at Mannargudi on February 27, said, “Having taken the legal course, it is now absolutely inevitable for the state to go through the full legal course and look forward to the legal eventuality.”
They also expressed concern over the utterances of Nitin Gadkari, union water resource minister and Siddharamaiah, Karnataka Chief Minister on the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board (CMB). “While Gadkari is non-committal on the time frame for forming the board, the Karnataka chief minister rejected it outright. Ignoring the SC verdict is tantamount to contempt of court,” they said.
S. Ranganathan, secretary, Cauvery Delta Farmers welfare association presided over the meeting. Prof. S. Janakarajan, convenor of the Cauvery Family and president, South Asian Consortium of inter-disciplinary water resource studies, Hyderabad, explained the legal recourse taken in the past and decisions taken at various meetings of the Cauvery family. He also spoke on the future course of action, both legal and otherwise.
Members generally expressed their disappointment over reduction of water to Tamil Nadu and fixing it at 177.25 tmc ft from 192 tmc ft by the apex court.
Nevertheless this will be helpful if the order is implemented properly. “The CMB should be formed and water released on monthly pro-rata basis as said in the final award of the Cauvery water disputes tribunal and upheld by the Supreme Court,” they said. They also decided to explain the SC verdict to farmers of the delta.
P.R. Pandian, president of the Thamizhaga Anaithu Vivasaya Sangangalin Orunginaippu Kuzhu, V. Jeevakumar from the Tamil Nadu Farm Labourers Association affiliated to the CPI(M) and V. Ganapathy, adviser to the Family attended the meeting, said a press release issued here by T. Janakarajan on Thursday.
