DMK welcomes SC directive to constitute Cauvery Water Management Board

Chennai: Welcoming the Supreme Court directive to the Union government to constitute the Cauvery Water Management Board (CWMB), DMK on Wednesday described it as "the light at the end of the tunnel" and urged the Centre to immediately form it without giving space to any political considerations.

"This verdict is a reward for years of grief and tears of farmers of Tamil Nadu. The Supreme Court verdict is like the light at the end of the tunnel," party chief M Karunanidhi said.

He urged the Central government to constitute the CWMB and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) immediately.

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"The Centre should not try to find more ways to delay the constitution of the CWMB and the CWRC for political reasons," he said.

The AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu should also use its "strength and clout" to ensure that the CWMB and the CWRC are constituted at the earliest, he said in a statement here.

The DMK chief said the central and state governments should actively pursue interlinking of rivers in south to avoid acrimony between states.

The Supreme Court had yesterday directed the Centre to constitute within four weeks the CWMB as directed by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal in its award.

It also directed the Centre to produce before it on the next date of hearing the notification indicating that the CWMB has been constituted and said, if required, further direction can be passed by the Apex Court to the CWMB.