Cauvery delta farmers fear N.P. Singh's resignation will delay justice further

It's time the apex court realised importance of Cauvery case: Ranganathan

April 15, 2012 02:22 am | Updated July 13, 2016 02:20 pm IST - KARUR:

The resignation of the Chairman of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal Justice N.P. Singh on health grounds has dismayed Tamil Nadu farmers who fear further delay in getting justice.

They have called upon the Centre to appoint a Chairman immediately to deal with the issue pending before the Tribunal for the past 16 years.

Noting with caution that Mr. Justice Singh has resigned on health grounds, S. Ranganathan, General Secretary, Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Association, observed that since 2007, when the Tribunal delivered its final verdict, and in effect the Supreme Court, were lying idle over the next step. It's time the apex court realised the importance of the Cauvery case and dealt with the issue on a par with Commonwealth, 2G and Adarsh cases, he opined.

“We, Cauvery farmers, expect the Supreme Court, in consultation with the Centre, to expeditiously find a replacement for Mr. Justice Singh as five long years have been lost to delay,” Mr. Ranganathan noted.

Already the costs of various projects planned along river Cauvery have gone up by more than five times as they are pending since the 1980s, he pointed out, adding any further delay might force all stakeholders to think less about the projects resulting in a national loss. Even at this late hour we urge the Supreme Court to wake up to the situation and facilitate its resolution in a just manner. For that early replacement for Mr. Justice Singh is a pre-requisite, he added.

“It's most unfortunate that Mr. Justice Singh has chosen to quit at a critical stage and it would only add agony to the Tamil Nadu petition before the Supreme Court seeking to restrain Karnataka from using up its reservoir waters during summer,” pointed out G. Ajeethan, Technical Secretary, Consortium of Indian Farmers Association, Tamil Nadu Branch and member of the Cauvery Family. The plea is to come up before the Supreme Court on April 23. We appeal to the Supreme Court to immediately find a successor to Mr. Justice Singh as many years of productivity have been lost to farmers of downstream States. “With depleting water storage at Mettur Dam, Kuruvai is now uncertain. Drinking water scarcity stalks towns from Erode to Thanjavur. Power situation would take a further beating as hydel power generation could suffer. To address all such issues it is imperative the Centre found a successor to Mr. Justice Singh,” Mr. Ajeethan opined.

Voicing similar concern and apprehensions of the delta ryots, the working president of the Cauvery Delta Farmers' Welfare Association Mahadanapuram V. Rajaram said the Tribunal had delivered its final verdict in 2007 after hearing all arguments by the disputing parties but it is yet to bring relief to delta farmers who are suffering due to their location.

Stating that the resignation would have far-reaching negative connotations for Tamil Nadu farmers, Mr. Rajaram noted that it was disheartening that the issue would be left to boil for some more years. “The top court must immediately fill up the vacancy caused by Mr. Justice Singh's resignation, direct the Tribunal members to hear the appeal on amendment to the final order and pronounce verdict on them without any further undue delay,” Mr. Rajaram said.

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