NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that it would hear and decide the Cauvery waters issue on a daily basis from March 21 onwards.
A bench headed by Justice Dipak Mishra after hearing brief arguments said that it would deliver the verdict in the case within three weeks of the arguments being completed in the stipulated time.
Senior advocate Fali S Nariman informed the bench that preliminary question of dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka whether the parent agreement of 1892 between them is still valid and whether irrigation can take place in the Mysuru region without prior consent from Karnataka or not.
However, during the hearing, the court rejected the demand of Tamil Nadu government for preventing Kerala from proceeding with construction of check dams on Bhavani.
Senior advocate Shekhar Napade appearing on behalf of Tamil Nadu clarified to the bench that tribunal has awarded water on basis of equity and it was not necessary for it to get into the validity of the agreements in place.
Both states had challenged the award of the Cauvery Waters Tribunal delivered in 2007. The tribunal in its final award had determined the usable quantum of water of the Cauvery at 740 tmcft. Karnataka is entitled to 270 tmcft, Tamil Nadu 419 tmcft, Kerala 30 tmcft, Puducherry 7 tmcft, and 14 tmcft is meant for environmental purposes, the tribunal had said.
The court had earlier said that it would first go into the issue of maintainability of appeals filed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala against the award of tribunal and then hear arguments on the report filed by Supervisory Committee formed to assess ground realities in the region.