New Delhi: Despite strong objections from senior counsel Fali Nariman, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Karnataka to continue the release of 2,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu till final orders are passed in the batch of appeals challenging the award of the Cauvery River Water Tribunal.
A three-judge Bench of Justices Dipak Misra, Amitav Roy and A.M. Kanwilkar, gave this direction while posting the appeals for final hearing on a day-to-day basis from July 11, after brief submissions from senior counsel Fali Nariman for Karnataka, Shekar Naphade for Tamil Nadu, and Jaideep Gupta for Kerala.
In the last hearing the court had fixed Tuesday for taking up the appeals for regular hearing but when the court assembled the Bench expressed difficulty to hear the appeals from Tuesday and said the matter will be heard for 15 days, (three days in a week) from July 11.
At this juncture Mr. Naphade pointed out that despite January 4 order, Karnataka has refused to release 2,000 cusecs and the same interim order should continue till appeals are disposed off. Mr. Nariman for Karnataka submitted that there is no question of releasing water to Tamil Nadu as there is no water in the state even for drinking purposes.
“Let the order remain in force, but we will not be able to implement it”, Mr. Nariman said and added that “we will argue the main matter.”
The Bench also recorded an undertaking from Mr. Jaideep Gupta that Kerala will not utilize more water for its projects than what it was entitled to under the Cauvery final award.
He also assured the court that whatever constructions being made or to be made is only for utilization of its share of water.
The bench asked State of Kerala to inform in writing to Tamil Nadu in 15 days what was given in the form of an undertaking. It is the contention of Karnataka that the agreements of 1892 and 1924 were the result of unequal bargaining power of Mysore and Madras Presidency and these agreements cannot form the basis for water allocation.
No new irrigation project can be implemented by Mysore without the approval of the then Madras Presidency.
It said these agreements cannot be enforced after Independence in 1947. Further after new State of Karnataka was formed in 1956, the erstwhile agreements are not binding on Karnataka but the tribunal had erred in accepting the agreements as valid, he said.
Karnataka asserted that it was always at the receiving end by the agreements which were thrust on it.
Karnataka questioned the methodology adopted by the Tribunal in apportioning water to the three States and to Puducherry. Referring to the apportionment of 270 tmcft to Karnataka and 192 tmcft to Tamil Nadu, it said Tamil Nadu did not question on merit the water requirement of 465 tmcft claimed by Karnataka based on the project reports for utilisation under various schemes.
