The Cauvery Delta Farmers’ Welfare Association has appealed to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka that they should work in unison with “fraternal amity” to ensure water for irrigation and drinking in both the States after the Award of the Cauvery Waters Dispute Tribunal is gazetted.
In a statement here, Mahadhanapuram V.Rajaram, working president of the association, pointed out that the Supreme Court had categorically directed the Central government to gazette the Award before February 20.
He said that the Tribunal came out with the final Award only in 2007 after several years of inquiry.
Normally any Award would come into force within 90 days only if it were to be gazetted.
But the Central government had been postponing gazetting of the Award under the pretext that appeals had been pending against it in the court.
Even when the apex court and the legal luminaries had said that there was nothing prohibiting the Central government from gazetting the Award while appeals were pending, the Central government was not prepared to listen to them.
Mr.Rajaram said there had been a number of contrarian views expressed in both the States regarding the implications of gazetting.
CM lauded
At the same time, he was happy to note that it was because of the “indefatigable efforts” of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa that the issue had reached the current stage.
Once the Award is gazetted both the Cauvery River Authority and the Monitoring Committee would cease to exist and the Cauvery Management Board would be constituted.
This body that would consist of officials from both the States would initiate steps to implement the Award.
Once the new body is constituted, it is imperative for it to ensure that both the States get water not only for irrigation but also for drinking, he pleaded.
