Cauvery water row: Supreme Court orders formation of Cauvery Management Board by Oct 4

In a crucial order on Friday, a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra passed an interim order that the Cauvery Management Board had to be constituted by October 4 and that the Centre was to ensure that a coordination officer was nominated.

Karnataka, though, got a breather as the bench did not initiate action against the state for defying their orders and not releasing 6,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu.

The bench said that all four Cauvery basin states — Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala — have to nominate a member to the Cauvery Management Board, as per orders of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal, before 4 pm on Saturday. The Cauvery board has to be constituted by Tuesday and then forthwith visit the site to study water availability. The board then has to report back to the Supreme Court.

Even as the SC bench did not initiate action against Karnataka, it reiterated its September 27 order and directed the state to release 6,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu from October 1 to 6.

The bench also warned Karnataka that it was flouting their orders and this was their last opportunity.