At a meeting of the Cauvery Monitoring Committee today, its Chairman and Water Resources Secretary Dhruv Vijai Singh told representatives of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry that all states except Karnataka have reiterated that the final award should be notified at the earliest.
The Karnataka Chief Secretary has informed Singh that he would receive orders on the issue from the state government and inform the panel in the next two days.
"The issue of notification of award is under active consideration of the Government of India and a decision is expected shortly," officials said.
In a major reprieve for Karnataka, the CMC also decided that it would not be appropriate to decide that Karnataka should release more water to Tamil Nadu, considering the circumstances, beyond the 1.51 tmc it is to give as per the award for January 2013.
It said even if no water is released from reservoirs of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu continues to receive water from the intermediate catchment between the dam in Karnataka and Metur in Tamil Nadu.
During January 1 to January 9, Metur received 1.6 tmc without any release of water from reservoirs of Karnataka. The panel also asked the states to conserve water and said that drinking water was a priority over irrigation needs.
