Centre to notify Krishna water tribunal verdict

The Centre is all set to notify the verdict of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II (KWDT-II) pronounced on December 30 last year without waiting for clarifications,if any,sought by the contesting parties Karnataka,Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

We have sent the draft copy of the gazette notification to the Law Ministry for vetting before the verdict of the tribunal is notified and published in the official gazette, a senior official of the Water Resources Ministry told The Indian Express. The tribunal had given three months time to the parties for seeking clarifications over the verdict.

According to sources,the decision to notify the tribunals award at the earliest is guided by the governments assessment that Section 6(2) of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act,1956,provides that the decision of the tribunal after its publication in the official gazette by the Centre will have the same force as that of an order or decree of the SC.

The move,aimed at avoiding confusion and delay in implementation,is significant as the government had waited for clarifications over the previous award of the first tribunal.