New Delhi: With the dispute over sharing of Cauvery water between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka again leading to heated arguments, the Supreme Court on January 31 asked Attorney General (AG) Soli Sorabjee to inquire from the Union government the possibility of an early meeting of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) headed by the Prime Minister to resolve issues.

"If the CRA meets early and resolves the issues it is well and good. Otherwise, as the matter is pending before us, we have to pass appropriate orders," a Bench comprising Chief Justice V N Khare, Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justice Arijit Pasayat said.

The Bench asked Sorabjee to ascertain from the government the likely dates for a meeting of CRA and intimate the same to the Court latest by February 4.

The Court then fixed February 5 for hearing on the petitions filed by Tamil Nadu accusing Karnataka of not releasing enough water to the detriment of its samba long-term crops.

Appearing for Tamil Nadu, senior advocate K K Venugopal said due to the continued defiance of Karnataka in releasing water, only five lakh acres as against the normal area of 11 lakh acres were sown with samba crops.

This small area of crops was in the danger of being destroyed if Karnataka did not release 13 TMC feet water immediately, he added.

However, appearing for Karnataka, senior advocate Fali S Nariman, submitted that in the months of November and December Karnataka had released more water than was necessary under the interim orders of the Cauvery River Disputes Tribunal.

PTI