CAUVERY ISSUE - SUPREME COURT JURISDICTION 16-Feb-2018

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appropriate relief at the time of passing of final orders. In
quantifying the volume of 205 TMC of water to be released by the
State of Karnataka from its reservoirs for Tamil Nadu's Mettur
reservoir, the Tribunal construed the average of the annual flow of
waters of the river Cauvery into the reservoir of Mettur Dam in
Tamil Nadu as the reasonable basis. For the said purpose, amongst
other aspects, it took note of the inflow of water into Mettur Dam for
a period of 10 years, i.e., 1980-81 to 1989-90 and worked out the
figure by leaving out of scrutiny the abnormally good years and bad
years and, thus, arrived at the figure of 205 TMC. While
entertaining the grievance of State of Tamil Nadu to the effect that
the releases ought to be made timely to meet the need of cultivation
of crops for which it set down the norms, it noted that the State of
Kerala had not applied for any interim order.
F. The issue of Ordinance by the State of Karnataka and the
Presidential Reference
30. The State of Karnataka, however, on 25.07.1991, promulgated
an Ordinance captioned ―The Karnataka Cauvery Basin Irrigation
Protection Ordinance, 1991‖ which, for all intents and purposes,