Cauvery: SC reserves order on Centre's draft scheme

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on the Central government's draft Cauvery management scheme, saying it would pass the order after examining whether the scheme was in consonance with its earlier judgment.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said it would issue the order on Friday at 2 p.m. If not on Friday, the order would be passed on May 22 or 23, it said.

Karnataka had raised objections to the draft scheme, saying it was not in "consonance" with the Supreme Court judgment.

The top court on Wednesday asked the central government to modify its draft scheme for setting up of a Cauvery Management Board (CMB) that will be the sole authority for implementing the Cauvery Water Tribunal Award.

It also sought dropping of the clause which said that in case of a dispute, the matter would be decided by the Centre and it would be final and binding.

The Centre was also asked to drop the clause that said that the Centre would give directions from time to time to the implementing authority -- a clause objected to by Tamil Nadu.

The 2007 Cauvery Water Tribunal Award was modified and reaffirmed by the top court by its February 16 verdict.

The court said the Central government would only be issuing administrative directions for implementing the award.

The CMB would be headquartered in Delhi while the office of the regulatory authority would be in Bengaluru.