scorecardresearch
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomeIndiaGovernanceTamil Nadu’s Cauvery setback was ‘minimal’, legal team debating whether to seek...

Tamil Nadu’s Cauvery setback was ‘minimal’, legal team debating whether to seek review

Follow Us :
Text Size:

Shekhar Naphade, who represented the state in the SC, says TN will insist on Centre constituting court-mandated water management board within 6 weeks.

New Delhi: Even as the Supreme Court verdict on the Cauvery issue is perceived as a setback to Tamil Nadu, the state’s legal team has said in a preliminary opinion that the setback is in fact minimal, and could have been far severe.

“The apex court has only revisited replenishable groundwater availability in the Cauvery basin, but has agreed with other propositions of the state,” the team has said, according to sources in the know of the developments.

Senior advocates Shekhar Naphade and Rakesh Dwivedi spearheaded Tamil Nadu’s legal team on the controversial case.

On 8 February, a three-judge bench of the apex court moved 14.74 thousand million cubic (TMC) feet of Cauvery water from Tamil Nadu’s share to Karnataka’s.

The court said that bearing in mind the “global status of Bengaluru”, 4.75 TMC ft will be exclusively reserved as drinking water for the city. The court identified that ground water in Tamil Nadu’s Cauvery basin amounts to 20 TMC ft. Since Karnataka does not have ground water in the Cauvery basin, the court directed that 10 TMC ft of Tamil Nadu’s water will be diverted to Karnataka.

Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami had said that a decision on filing a review petition on the court’s ruling will be taken after holding an all-party meeting and consulting legal experts.

“I am still debating whether we should seek a review. Once I give my final opinion, it is up to the state government to take a call,” Naphade told ThePrint.

The court also directed the Centre to set up the Cauvery Water Management Board, a supervisory team, to implement the verdict within six weeks.

Tamil Nadu had insisted on setting up such a team, claiming that Karnataka has refused to implement the court’s orders in the past.

Sources said that Tamil Nadu is likely to consider filing a contempt case against the Centre if it fails to set up the supervisory committee immediately instead of seeking a review of the court’s ruling.

“A committee to implement the order has been set up by a decree of the court and the Centre has only six weeks to make sure members are appointed,” Naphade said.

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular