The Supreme Court on Friday reduced the share of Cauvery river water for Tamil Nadu to 177.25 TMC. The top court also ruled that Karnataka will get 14.75 TMC more water over and above of its share of 270 TMC as allocated by Cauvery Tribunal board.
While news left Tamil Nadu politicians dejected with many saying that the state had been cheated, Karnataka chief minister, Siddaramaiah, welcomed the verdict but refused to call it a victory for the state.
He said, “The Hon. Supreme Court has partially allowed our appeal & given us a relief of 14.75 TMC which includes an additional quantity of 4.75 TMC for Bengaluru. We had sought greater relief but are happy the Hon. Supreme Court has given us some relief. We welcome the Cauvery Verdict. In a federal structure, and especially in such cases of sensitive inter-state disputes, it is incorrect to say one state has won and the other has lost. We are glad that the Hon. Supreme Court has considered our distress in delivering the Cauvery Verdict.”
The ruling AIADMK MP M Navaneethakrishnan said that the state government would continue its efforts for getting a fair share of Cauvery water. “Our government will continue its fight to get adequate water for Tamil Nadu,” he told PTI. He urged the Centre to immediately constitute the Cauvery Management Board as the first step.
The opposition DMK in Tamil Nadu slammed the ruling AIADMK for not properly handling the case. Party’s working president MK Stalin said that the Supreme Court verdict was shocking adding that the DMK stongly condemned the K. Palaniswami government for not submitting appropriate evidence in the Supreme Court to get adequate water.
Not everyone in Tamil Nadu was upset though. Farmer leader PR Pandian told IANS, “In a way, this is a historical judgment where the apex court has said no state can claim ownership over a river. The Central government should now nationalise the rivers.”
The Supreme Court bench consisting of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justices Amitava Roy and AM Khanwilkar also it upheld the Cauvery Tribunal order granting 30 TMC of water to Kerala and 7 TMC of water to Puducherry.
The news of Karnataka receiving more water couldn’t have come at more appropriate occasion than when the state is scheduled to go for polls in next few months.