There are a couple of flaws in the Cauvery Management Scheme and Tamil Nadu needs to move the Supreme Court for a hearing before a seven-judge Constitution Bench to ensure that it gets its rightful share of water, P. Maniarasan, organiser of the Cauvery Rights Retrieval Committee, said.
In a statement issued in Chennai on Sunday, he said the first flaw in the scheme was that it did not explicitly state that the Cauvery Management Authority alone had the right to release water.
“If the Board has to ask the Karnataka government to open the dam for releasing water, what stops the Karnataka government from asking its officials not to open the dam? What will be done under such circumstances?” he asked.
Recalling earlier instances when Karnataka refused to release water, Mr. Maniarasan said neither the Supreme Court nor the Centre took any action against Karnataka for not following the court’s orders, while Tamil Nadu was made to suffer without water.
He said the second flaw was the constitution of the 9-member committee, which would have five members from the Centre and four from Tamil Nadu and other States.
“If the member from Karnataka opposes water release, what’s the guarantee that the Centre’s members would support Tamil Nadu? Right from 1991 till now, both the BJP and the Congress have acted against Tamil Nadu’s interests. What’s the guarantee that such actions will not continue?” he asked.
