6 states to tell Supreme Court they abide by Godavari water award

NEW DELHI:  The Supreme Court on Thursday asked Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh to file an affidavit stating they are bound by the 1980 Godavari River Water Tribunal Award in terms of the Interstate River Water Disputes Act, 1956.

The Indira Sagar (Polavaram) Dam also known as Polavaram Dam multi-purpose irrigation project is being carried out in pursuance of the award. 

Giving the Chief Secretaries of the six states four weeks time to file the affidavits, a bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta also asked the Secretary of the Union Water Resources Ministry to file an affidavit reaffirming the position that under the 1956 Act all were bound to accept the Justice Bachawat Godavari River Water Tribunal Award.

Asking the Chief Secretaries to file the affidavit, Justice Lokur said, in that case, they were only left with the interpretation whether the dam under construction was conforming to the award. 

Odisha told the court that the Polavaram Dam should be as per the award as any deviation would result in submergence of the tribal villages in Malkangiri district of the state.

However, the court said that the proceedings before it would not preclude the Chief Ministers of the six states from amicably resolving the issue.

It directed the next hearing on the matter on April 17.