The Apex Court on Tuesday had finally decided to put an end to the seemingly perennial issue of Cauvery River Water Dispute within a period of 4 weeks. It is noteworthy that the remark was made by the apex court while deciding on a plea filed by a Bengaluru based activist group Bangalore Political Action Committee (BPAC) for resolving the diminishing supply and poor condition of drinking water in Bengaluru and nearby districts. It is to be noted that earlier the Apex Court had reserved its decision arising out of various appeals filed by the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala after a series of hearing conducted in September 2017. The apparent decision is touted to put a permanent closure to the age long conflict of Cauvery water distribution.
Cauvery, venerated by people as a life-giving source, is an inter-state basin originating from Karnataka and flowing through Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and finally into the Bay of Bengal. The outset of this dispute was in year 1982 between the Madras presidency and princely state of Mysore when they were deciding the distribution of water. Cauvery water has been a bone of contention between the two states since then. To resolve the tension between the states that had taken the form of an ugly fight a tribunal was constituted. Tribunal made the final award on February 5, 2007. However, review petitions were instantly filed against the award made by the Tribunal. And since then, the dispute has not been given any final direction and various important issues are still unheard and undecided.
Residents of both the states are having huge expectations from the verdict. For years, the generation residing in these states have suffered severe conditions owing to the shortage of water supply that could fulfil their basic needs. The Apex Court should place interest of all the affected on equal footing so that larger good can be served.
Courtesy/By: Lalit Saraf
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11 Jan 2018
