New Delhi: The Centre on Friday asked the Supreme Court for an additional two weeks to prepare the draft scheme for effective implementation of its order on Cauvery water sharing between Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
The application seeking extension of time was mentioned before a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra who did not pass any order and said that it would take up the issue on the next date.
On 9 April, the court had directed the central government to submit the draft scheme by 3 May.
The government cited assembly elections in Karnataka and sought time beyond 12 May (election day) for putting the scheme in place.
On 16 February, the apex court ordered that under the new water sharing arrangement Karnataka would have to release 177.25 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of water to Tamil Nadu against the earlier quantum of 192 tmcft.
The court also allocated an additional 4.75 tmcft to Bengaluru to meet the drinking water and domestic requirements of the “global city”. As a result, Karnataka will now receive 284.75 tmcft as against the 270 tmcft it gets at present.
The new water sharing scheme would be applicable for the next 15 years. Allocation to Tamil Nadu now stands at 414.25 tmcft annually, which includes 10 tmcft on account of availability of groundwater. Kerala and Puducherry continue to receive 30 tmcft and 7 tmcft, respectively.
The Cauvery water dispute is more than 150 years old and has its origins in the 1894 and 1924 agreements for water sharing between the then presidency states of Madras and Mysore. These agreements will remain in force despite the Reorganization Act, 1956, having taken effect, the order stated.
The judgement was passed on a batch of appeals by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, challenging the 2007 award passed by the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal, which determined the utilizable quantum of water in the Cauvery at 740 tmcft.