Cauvery water issue: Tamil Nadu govt seeks Rs 2,480 crore compensation from Karnataka

The Tamil Nadu government on Monday sought a compensation of Rs 2,480 crore from Karnataka for not releasing water to the state despite getting a Supreme Court directive to do so.

The apex court in its sitting today has ordered both the Tamil Nadu and the Karnataka governments to file a list of witnesses within a week.

It also said that the details of witnesses affidavit should also be listed within four weeks.

However, the apex court on 4 January announced to continue the hearing of the Cauvery water issue on 7 February.

A bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Dipak Misra and comprising Justice Amitava Roy and Justice A. M. Khanwilkar extended the interim order in the water issue, directing Karnataka to release 2,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu, till the next order.

The lawyer from the side of Tamil Nadu Shekhar Naphade urged the three-judge bench to bring the matter to a logical end for which there should be continuous hearing.

The apex court mentioned that the hearings would go on for three weeks at 2 p.m. daily from 7 February onwards so that the issue could be resolved and the appeal would be finalised.

Earlier, on 9 December, the apex court upheld its constitutional power and right to hear appeals filed by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, against the 2007 Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal final award.

-ANI