After a series of setbacks, the Supreme Court’s directive on Tuesday to set aside the formation of the Cauvery Management Board has come as a relief to Karnataka. The Apex court ordered Karnataka to release to 2,000 cusecs of water from October 7 to 18 to Tamil Nadu, and set aside the constitution of the Board. It also directed the Centre to send a fact-finding team led by the Central Water Commission to assess the ground realities in the Cauvery basin districts.
Reacting to the court’s directives, Karnataka Water Resources Minister MB Patil said: “It is a welcome relief. Finally, the State’s demand for an expert team to assess the ground realities in the Cauvery basin has been met through the court order.”
A senior government official, who is part of the decision-making process, termed the Supreme Court’s directives as a “big relief” and implementable.
Dinesh Gundu Rao, Working President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, told reporters that the court order comes at a time when the State has been facing a series of setbacks for the past one month. The court has finally woken up to the ground realities in the Cauvery basin.”
Welcoming the order, Former PM Prime Minister and JDS president HD Deve Gowda said: “The Advocate General in his submission to the court had highlighted the problems faced by the State. The Centre has finally woken up, and is now aware of the injustice meted out all these years.”