TN parties welcome apex court order on Cauvery Management Board

Chennai: Political parties in Tamil Nadu welcomed Supreme Court's order on Tuesday directing the central government to set up the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) in four weeks time.

The apex court also ordered the central government to report to it with the necessary notification. It also directed Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu daily till September 27, superseding the order of Cauvery Supervisory Committee to release 3,000 cusecs of water.

Reacting to the development, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss termed it as "historic", saying his party has been demanding the setting up of ACMB for the past nine years.

In a statement here, Ramadoss said the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) had given its final award on February 5, 2007, but the central government under Congress and the BJP were reluctant to set up the CMB owing to political reasons as both the parties have higher political states in Karnataka.

According to him the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government did not notify the Tribunal's final award in the official gazette and later did not set up the CMB.

Only after the Supreme Court ordered gazetting of the final award, did the UPA government notified the same on February 19, 2013.

Ramadoss urged the central government to take immediate actions to set up the CMB and try not to delay the same.

Welcoming the apex court's order, MDMK leader Vaiko said the central government should set up the CMB and the Cauvery Water Regulatory Authority (CWRA).