New Delhi: The Supreme Court on February 6 asked Karnataka to release 4,500 CUSECS of water to Tamil Nadu till February 10, the day on which the crucial Cauvery River Authority (CRA) meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is scheduled for.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice R C Lahoti directed that the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) will not be adjourned if any of the four participating Chief Ministers do not attend the meeting.

The counsels of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka assured the court that Chief Ministers of their states will positively attend and participate in the February 10 meeting.

In the absence of consensus in the CRA meeting, the decision of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who is the chairperson of the authority, shall be final.

The court said the interim order passed on February 6 can be suitably changed and modified by the CRA.

The final outcome of the CRA meeting and the decision taken therein pursuant to the interim order would be treated as an order of the court.

The Bench passed this order after hearing the counsel for both parties and the Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee.

Earlier, the Supreme Court summoned the chairman, and present and past member secretary of the Cauvery Monitoring Committee to assist them in finding what quantum of water should be released on a daily basis by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu before February 10 meeting.

The three-judge bench comprising Justice R C Lahoti, Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justice Arijit Pasayat said they needed to consult these three experts to arrive at an opinion regarding the quantum of water needed by Tamil Nadu to save its samba crop.

The Tamil Nadu government submitted that Karnataka had been violating the orders of the Cauvery River Authority headed by the Prime Minister and those of the Supreme Court for release of adequate quantity of water.

Senior advocate K K Venugopal stated that the total shortfall in release of water by Karnataka amounted to nearly 60 TMC ft water.

However, Karnataka government stated that it has been releasing substantial quantity of water to Tamil Nadu. This stand of Karnataka was supported by the Union Government in its affidavit filed on February 5.

Karnataka government counsel senior advocate Fali Nariman submitted that the court should appoint an expert body to determine the quantity of water stored in Karnataka as well as Tamil Nadu and also to determine the quantity of water needed by Tamil Nadu on a daily basis.

Agencies