Tamil Nadu to file contempt plea against Karnataka

Chennai : The Tamil Nadu government will file a contempt petition in the Supreme Court against the Karnataka government for stopping the supply of Cauvery river waters in violation of court orders, it was announced Tuesday.

The decision was taken at a meeting held to review the situation, chaired by Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa here Tuesday.

The meeting was also attended by Minister for Public Works K.V. Ramalingam and senior officials, according to a statement issued by the government.

The Karnataka government’s unilateral decision to stop release of Cauvery waters to Tamil Nadu Monday will affect the federalistic set-up of the country and be in contempt of the apex court’s directive, participants at the meeting said.

It was also decided to file a contempt of court petition against the Karnataka government in the apex court so Tamil Nadu gets its share of Cauvery waters.

The Supreme Court Sep 29 ordered the Karnataka government to release 9,000 cusecs of Cauvery waters as per the decision Cauvery River Authority (CRA), presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Earlier on Sep 19, the CRA ordered Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu from Sep 20 onwards till Oct 15.

Obeying the court’s direction, the Karnataka government started releasing water to Tamil Nadu Sep 29 on, but on Monday night Karnataka stopped the supply of water.