Cauvery verdict: Will take legal opinion, says Tamil Nadu CM Palaniswami

Salem: Apparently disappointed with the Supreme Court ruling in the Cauvery water sharing dispute case, the Tamil Nadu government on Sunday said that it would consult legal experts before going for an appeal.

"As far as the appeal is concerned, the Tamil Nadu government will take action after going through the verdict and consulting legal experts," Chief Minister K Palaniswami said in response to reporters' queries.

The Chief Minister added that even though the apex court's decision to reduce the quantum of water to Tamil Nadu from the inter-state river was disappointing, certain other rulings of the court, such as no state could claim ownership to rivers, were welcome.

The Supreme Court, while delivering its verdict on the vexed Cauvery river dispute, had on Friday said the water of a river was a "national asset" and a beneficial gift of nature and that no state could claim "exclusive ownership" over it or deprive others.

The court had also said the water of the inter-state river was common and equal to all, through whose land it ran, and that no one could obstruct or divert it.

Delivering its verdict on the dispute involving the southern states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, besides Kerala and Puducherry, the court had raised the 270 tmcft share of Cauvery water for Karnataka by 14.75 tmcft and reduced the share of Tamil Nadu.

It had compensated Tamil Nadu by allowing it to extract 10 tmcft of groundwater from the river basin, saying the issue of drinking water had to be placed on a "higher pedestal".

The allocation for Kerala and Puducherry continued to remain at 30 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) and 7 tmcft respectively. 

Several political parties including AIADMMK and DMK, and veteran Tamil actors Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan had expressed disappointment over the top court ruling.

Rajinikanth said that the Supreme Court verdict reducing the quantum of water to Tamil Nadu from Cauvery river was "very disappointing".

"Since the final verdict by the Supreme Court on the Cauvery water sharing amounts to further affecting the livelihood of the farmers in Tamil Nadu, it is very disappointing," he said in a tweet.

Rajinikanth further said that the Tamil Nadu government should take steps to file a review petition on the matter.

On the other hand, film star Kamal Haasan, who is set to embark on his political journey, appealed to both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to maintain amity in the wake of the SC judgement on sharing of Cauvery waters between the two states.

(With Agency Inputs)