“Every state is a part of the nation and we don't want them to quarrel,” said the Supreme Court on Wednesday, as Karnataka continued to accuse Tamil Nadu of breaching the 1924 agreement on Cauvery water sharing by enlarging its area for irrigation.
Appearing for Karnataka, senior advocate F S Nariman submitted before a three-judge bench presided over by Justice Dipak Misra that the real shares for each state should be determined on the basis of need.
He said the factors which should be considered included contribution of water by each state, its population and cultivable area to raise the crop.
The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal was to give due weight to climatic factors, hydrological cycle, engineering factors and geographical positions in the basin to determine the need for each state.
“The tribunal had to first adjudicate the shares of states by the principle of suitable apportionment, without reference to any diversion/utilisations made by party states. It would then have become apparent as to whether or not any party state had appropriated in excess of its equitable share in the waters,” Nariman said.
The bench, also comprising Justices Amitava Roy and A M Khanwilkar, observed that there is no chance of the matter being referred back to the tribunal again. The court would continue to hear arguments on part of Karnataka on Thursday on the civil appeals also filed by Tamil Nadu against the tribunal's decision.
