PUDUCHERRY: Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy has welcomed the Supreme Court’s directive to constitute the
Cauvery Management Board
for regulating and releasing water from
Karnataka to Tamil Nadu.
The Union territory of Puducherry will get its share of the
Cauvery water only if water is released from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu.
Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday night, Narayanasamy expressed optimism that the board (to be constituted within four weeks) will ensure prompt release of proportionate share of water for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry within the stipulated time frame.
“Issues crop up every year while sharing water, leading to tense situation in Karnataka. The proposed board will not only monitor whether proportionate share of water is released from Karnataka but also will ensure that water is released within the stipulated time frame. I welcome the court’s order,” he said.
The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, which passed its final award in 2007, directed for constitution of the board. The tribunal also allotted the share of Cauvery water among the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala and Union territory of Puducherry.
The tribunal, which estimated the storage of Cauvery basin at 740TMC (one thousand million cubic feet), allotted 419TMC to Tamil Nadu, 270TMC to Karnataka, 30TMC to Kerala and 7TMC to Puducherry. The tribunal reserved the remaining (14TMC) for environmental reasons and outflow to sea.