Stepping up pressure on the Centre over the Cauvery issue, the Tamil Nadu Assembly today adopted a unanimous resolution urging it to constitute the Cauvery water management board (CMB) within six weeks.
While the ruling AIADMK said the issue was "intertwined with the aspirations" of the entire state, opposition DMK mooted en masse resignation of MLAs if the Centre did not set up CMB and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) within six weeks.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami hours later wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi bringing to his notice the assembly resolution.
At a special afternoon sitting, exclusively convened to discuss the Cauvery issue, the DMK-led opposition supported the government resolution moved by Palaniswami.
"This House insists that Centre should constitute the empowered CMB and CWRC and implement them within six weeks," the resolution said.
It recalled the February 16 verdict of the Supreme Court on appeals by the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments over the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal's final order.
Moving the resolution, the Chief Minister said the river water dispute was not just confined to the Cauvery delta regions "but is intertwined with the aspirations of entire Tamil Nadu."
Speaking on the resolution, DMK Working President and Leader of the Opposition M K Stalin said: "If the Central government does not constitute the panels within six weeks, all Tamil Nadu MLAs should resign en masse. DMK is ready to do so," he said.
However, Stalin expressed hope that the Centre will not allow such a "crisis" to happen.
He said all political parties in the state were on the same page over the implementation of the Supreme Court verdict on the inter-state row involving Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Kerala and Puducherry are the other stakeholders.
Stalin, Congress Legislature Party Leader KR Ramasamy and lone IUML member KM Mohammed Abubacker spoke on the resolution and supported the government's stand.
Later, the Chief Minister who had recently submitted a memorandum to Modi urging the constitution of the Cauvery panels, recounted the decades old Cauvery dispute and capped it with the current developments.
Agreements between the erstwhile Madras Presidency and the princely state of Mysore in 1892 and 1924 "clearly" underline Tamil Nadu's rights on the inter-state river but Karnataka "in violation" of the agreements had constructed various dams across the river in the 1960s and 1970s, he said.
He tracked the passage of the dispute, highlighting important details including the formation of a tribunal, its interim and final awards and later the legal battles on the issue taken forward by the state government.
He referred to the February 16 final verdict of the Supreme Court, pointing out that it has directed that a 'scheme' be evolved by the Centre within six weeks on the dispute.
Following the verdict, Tamil Nadu government has been demanding that the Centre immediately constitute the CMB and CWRC.
This had been reiterated by the state at a meeting convened by Union Water Resources Ministry to discuss the Cauvery issue with Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry, he said.
Later, the resolution was adopted after Palaniswami requested the House to help unanimously pass it.
In his letter to the Prime Minister, a copy of which was circulated to media, Palaniswami said since four weeks had already lapsed "without any positive outcome" (on constitution of the panels) the farmers and the people of the state were deeply anguished.
"Hence, I request you to direct the Water Resources Ministry, to notify the formation of Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee and enable them to function effectively," he said.
The Supreme Court's direction to the Centre to notify a "scheme," for the implementation of final order of the Cauvery Tribunal meant only the "implementation machinery," which are CMB and the CWRC, he said.
The Chief Minister said he looked forward to the Prime Minister's "immediate positive" response in this matter.
A copy of the assembly resolution was enclosed with the letter.
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