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Jayalalithaa health is ok, Tamil Nadu CM says Karnataka defied SC orders on Cauvery issue

By FnF Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 29, Sep 2016, 15:32 pm IST | UPDATED: 30, Sep 2016, 17:56 pm IST

Jayalalithaa health is ok, Tamil Nadu CM says Karnataka defied SC orders on Cauvery issue Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday lashed out at the Karnataka government, saying the latter treated the orders of the Supreme Court to release the Cauvery water with utter contempt. Successive orders of the court had been deliberately and systematically defied, she said.

Jayalalithaa's speech was read out by chief secretary P Rama Mohana Rao at the meeting convened by Union water resources minister Uma Bharati in New Delhi following Supreme Court directions to end the impasse. PWD minister Eddapadi K Palaniswami and officials represented the state as Jayalalithaa is undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospitals in Chennai. The speech was released to the media here.

"This deliberate defiance goes against the spirit of the Constitution itself and amounts to contempt of the apex court of the country. Karnataka has not followed the orders of the Supreme Court and has on the other hand permitted unruly elements to create law and order issues," Jayalalithaa said, going into the details of how her government was forced to move the court for interim directions.

On Tamil Nadu government's petition seeking release of water from Karnataka reservoirs, the Supreme Court had ordered 17.366tmcft until September 20 and another 3.629tmcft until September 27. Karnataka had failed to release the stipulated quantity of water in utter disregard and in complete contempt of the court orders, she alleged.

She said Karnataka had not at any time honoured the interim order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, whereas only the surplus flood waters, which its reservoirs could not hold, flowed to Tamil Nadu. The final award allocated 419tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu of which an annual quantity of 192tmcft has to be ensured on the inter-state border, which is far below the requirement of Tamil Nadu.

"Karnataka has not released the stipulated quantity of 192tmcft in any of the years except, when the reservoirs in Karnataka could not hold the surplus flows," she said.

Jayalalithaa said the state was in dire need of water and urged the Centre to ensure that Karnataka complied with the court orders immediately and released water to Tamil Nadu.

"Karnataka should release the stipulated quantity of water as per the final order of the tribunal including the backlog of 76.042tmcft as on September 26," she said, detailing that it was vital for the survival of at least one crop in the delta, granary of Tamil Nadu.

She also reiterated her demand that the Centre immediately constitute the Cauvery Management Board as ordered by the court. In an aggressive tone, the chief minister took the Karnataka government head on for an "orchestrated spate of arson and violence" unleashed against Tamils living in Karnataka. Tamils had been persecuted and attacked with impunity by frenzied mobs with little or no effective restraint or action by the Karnataka authorities.

"We are led to believe that many of these instances of mob violence were deliberately fanned by various political formations and high level instigators charged with maintaining law and order, who watched the incidents with glee," she said.

In contrast, the Tamil Nadu chief minister said despite the dire provocation, her government had taken every effort to ensure that law and order was maintained perfectly.

Absolute restraint was observed by all sections in Tamil Nadu, including farmers. On the other hand, the situation was grave in Karnataka. "Tamil people in Karnataka have been living in fear whenever Tamil Nadu has claimed its rightful share of water in judicial forums, though all judicial forums have seen merit and justice in our case," she said.

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