Jayalalithaa repeats demand to notify Cauvery Tribunal's final order

Noting the poor storage position in the Mettur Dam was affecting the paddy crop in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa Saturday again requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to expedite the notification of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal's final order.

She also demanded constitution of the Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee.

In a letter to the prime minister, the text of which was released to the media here, Jayalalithaa said: "The storage position in Mettur Reservoir has reached a precarious position and a calamitous situation prevails in the Cauvery-fed districts of Tamil Nadu. As on 21st December, 2012, the storage in Mettur Reservoir is just 8.8 TMC ft (thousand million cubic feet)."

According to her, the state was made to run from pillar to post to get its due share of water from Karnataka.

"..in spite of all our efforts, Karnataka continues to utilise all the waters of the river Cauvery brazenly, as if it owns the river Cauvery, with scant regard to the plight of the lower riparian state," she said.

She urged Manmohan Singh to notify the final order of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal given in 2007 without any further loss of time so that water released to Tamil Nadu by Karnataka can be ensured and the withering crops could be saved at least to some extent during this distress year.

Citing the notification of the Tribunal's interim order in December 1991 despite pending cases in the Supreme Court against the interim order, Jayalalithaa said the Tribunal's final order should also be notified immediately.

The Tamil Nadu chief minister had Thursday also written to the prime minister, asking him to expedite the notification of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal's final order before the end of this month. - IANS