A day after the Supreme Court suggested revisions to the Cauvery draft scheme submitted by the Centre, the Union Government has submitted the revised draft to the SC.
Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra has reserved judgement to “examine the draft to see whether it is in consonance with our judgment and pass a order.”
The Supreme Court on Wednesday had directed Centre to make a few modifications to the draft it had submitted on May 14. The court ordered the Centre to "rectify the draft scheme".
The SC ordered the removal of the clauses which read that the Centre’s decision is final and that the CMB should comply with the changes made by the Centre.
The Chief Justice of India orally observed, "Central government's authority is not final. Centre has to understand our judgement better."
With regard to a clause that stated the Centre could issue instructions from time to time, the SC asked the Centre to clarify that it referred to the functioning of the scheme and not the sharing of the river water.
The SC had also directed Centre to change the headquarters from Bengaluru to Delhi and also added that no more dams can be built across Cauvery river.
While Tamil Nadu has insisted on calling the scheme the Cauvery Management Board, the Centre maintained that it was fine with any nomenclature- Board, Authority or Committee. However, it is reported that the final draft names the scheme Cauvery Water Management Authority.
On February 16, the Supreme Court awarded its final verdict on the Cauvery water-sharing dispute, directing the Centre to frame a scheme within 6 weeks of the verdict. The Centre had faced severe flak from political parties in Tamil Nadu for missing its six-week deadline. Nearly three months after the Supreme Court directed the Centre to form a scheme implementing its judgment in the Cauvery dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the Centre has filed a draft of the scheme to the Supreme Court on May 14.