Government urges states to accept Cauvery ruling

New Delhi -- Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz Monday urged all the three Cauvery river basin states to accept a tribunal's verdict on sharing of waters, saying it was equivalent to that given by the Supreme Court.

The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal gave Karnataka 270 thousand million cubic (TMC) feet and Tamil Nadu 419 TMC ft share of waters of the Cauvery river that flows through both states.

"The tribunal's award is equal to an order by the Supreme Court. All the states will have to accept it," the minister told reporters after the verdict by the three-member judicial panel here.

"The states will have three months to respond to the tribunal's order," said Soz, adding, "The states can ask for an explanation of the award and the tribunal can explain the queries raised by the state within a year."

The government is also studying the award, he said.