New Delhi:  The Supreme Court yesterday laid down three major modifications to Cauvery Management Scheme draft submitted by the Centre on May 14. While there was no clarity in the nomenclature of the scheme in its draft, SC has asked Centre to change the name of the authority to Board.

It has also directed Centre to change the headquarters from Bengaluru to New Delhi. The SC has also asked for removal of the clauses which read that the Centre’s decision is final and that the Cauvery Management Board should comply with the changes of Centre. The Court clearly specified that the Board alone has the authority to implement and award Cauvery water to the States. SC also added that no more dams can be built across Cauvery River. The SC rejected Karnataka and Kerala’s plea to defer its order and asked the Centre to submit the scheme with modifications on May 17. Karnataka had requested SC to defer its hearing owing to its turbulent Government formation.

The uncertainty about Karnataka’s future government made its presence felt in the courtroom when senior advocate Shyam Divan, for the State, asked the Apex Court to postpone the hearing to July first week. “The govt. formation is going on. We too want to give suggestions on the draft scheme like the other States. You deferred the case many a time for the Centre. If that had not happened, we would not have been in this situation now. This scheme will be effective on us for 15 years. We have a right to say something. Stand this over till the first week of July,” Divan told the Court.

Senior counsel for TN, Shekhar Naphade, protested. He said the Constitution does not contemplate a vacuum and it is wrong to say that there is no government in Karnataka now. He said the Court cannot wait till July as the first release of water from Cauvery is scheduled in June.

The SC paid no heed to Divan and went ahead to sift the inputs from the States of TN, Kerala and Union Territory of Puducherry. The Court also turned down TN’s plea to appoint a retired Judge as the Chairman of the authority and also to discard the distress formula by the Cauvery authority.