SC will decide the fate of appeals filed against a tribunal order that divided the Cauvery water between Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court is set to deliver its final verdict Friday on the Cauvery water sharing dispute involving four southern states.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra will decide the fate of appeals filed against an interstate water tribunal order that had divided the Cauvery water between Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.
The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) had unanimously decided that out of 740 thousand million cubic (tmc) feet of Cauvery water, Tamil Nadu will receive 419 tmcft, Karnataka 270 tmcft, Kerala 30 tmcft and Puducherry will get 7 tmcft.
In 2007, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala had filed appeals against the verdict of the tribunal although the award was notified by the government in 2013.
The final award has, however, not been implemented. The apex court’s interim orders have been in place. In October 2017, the top court had ordered Karnataka to release 2000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu every day.
The court had also directed the central government to set up the Cauvery Water Management Board (CWMB) as per the tribunal award. The board is mandated with the task of deciding the water share based on annual rainfall and other criteria.
Although the issue involves Kerala and Puducherry as well, tensions rise between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu every summer when water has to be shared.
Karnataka had contested the final verdict of the tribunal arguing that an unfair allocation has been made to the state which will leave Bengaluru and six neighbouring districts parched. All states have demanded that the tribunal ought to have allocated them a bigger share.
The central government had opposed entertaining the appeals but in December 2016, the court had clarified that it has jurisdiction to hear the appeals.
Apart from CJI Misra, judges Amitava Roy and A.M. Khanwilkar heard the case for over two months. Justice Roy is set to retire in two weeks.