Expressing his disappointment over the Supreme Court verdict — which has reduced the quantum of Cauvery water to be released for Tamil Nadu — Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami who is facing the ire of opposition parties and farmers for failing to get a favourable order in the apex court, has expressed confidence that the Centre would constitute the Cauvery Water Management Board within six weeks as suggested by the court, a long-pending demand of the state.

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“The formation of Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee has been our long-pending demand. The Supreme Court has ordered the constitution of the board and the commission within six weeks. I hope the Centre will implement it,” Palaniswami said in Coimbatore on Saturday. 

The Supreme Court on Friday enhanced Karnataka’s share of Cauvery water by 14.75 TMC and reduced Tamil Nadu’s quantum by an equal amount in its verdict to resolve the decades-old dispute while observing no state can claim “exclusive ownership” of inter-state river water.

Meanwhile, eminent agricultural scientist Prof MS Swaminathan pressed for the formation of the CMB as per the apex court order. “The Cauvery Management Board can give urgent consideration to various opportunities for both demand management and supply augmentation so that the reduced water allocation does not affect productivity and income security of numerous small farms in Tamil Nadu,” he said in a statement. 

Palaniswami told reporters that the Cauvery Water Tribunal had allocated 192 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu; reducing it by 14.75 TMC and allotting 177.25 TMC to the state in the verdict was “disappointing”. However, certain points should be welcomed, he told reporters at the airport here, adding that he cannot comment further on the court verdict.