CM requests PM to form CMB immediately

As protests mounted in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday “requested” Prime Minister Narendra Modi to constitute the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) vested with all powers to effectively implement the orders of the Supreme Court.

In a memorandum submitted to Mr. Modi at the airport, the Chief Minister said the Prime Minister was aware that the Supreme Court in its verdict on February 16, 2018, had directed that a scheme should be formulated by the Central government within six weeks to implement the notified final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal as modified by its judgment.

Further, on April 9, the Supreme Court had clearly stated that the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal had merged with the judgment of the Supreme Court. Therefore, the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board had become an integral part of the Supreme Court’s judgment, he pointed out.

Farmers’ hope

The farmers of the delta areas of Tamil Nadu, who are dependent on Cauvery water for irrigation, were fervently hoping that the implementation machinery would be constituted by the Centre to enable them to commence agricultural operations in the next irrigation season, which starts on June 1, 2018, he said, “earnestly requesting” the Prime Minister to immediately constitute the CMB and the CWRC with all the powers, according to an official release.