Centre Sets Up Cauvery Water Management Authority

The Centre yesterday (1 June) notified by means of a Gazette Notification that it had constituted the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to solve the dispute between the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and the union territory of Puducherry.

The Supreme Court in its 16 February order had directed the Centre to set up the body within six weeks while increasing Karnataka’s share marginally. The Centre had then sought an extension keeping the Karnataka elections in mind.

The Gazette notification said that Ministry of Water Resources had framed the scheme to constitute a Cauvery Management Authority and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee to act on the orders of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.

The authority would be headed by a chairman, followed by a secretary and eight members of which two would be full time, two would be part time and the remaning four would be part time members from the states.

The chairman would need to either be a ‘senior and eminent engineer’ or an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer experiences in the management of water resources and interstate disputes. The term of office would be five years or till the age of retirement at 65, whichever is earlier.