New Delhi

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to constitute a tribunal to adjudicate the long-pending dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over sharing the waters of the Pennaiyar river and issue the requisite notification within one month.

The direction was issued by a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and N V Anjaria.

“We, therefore, find no reason to refrain from directing the Central government to issue an appropriate notification in the official gazette and to constitute a water disputes tribunal for adjudication of the inter-se water dispute between the parties within a period of one month from today,” Justice Nath said while pronouncing the order.

The detailed judgment is awaited.

Tamil Nadu had approached the apex court in 2018 by filing an original suit against Karnataka, alleging that the latter was undertaking construction of check dams and diversion structures on the Pennaiyar river without its consent.

The state argued that water in an interstate river is a national asset and that no state can claim exclusive rights over it. It also contended that unilateral actions by an upper riparian state could adversely impact water availability downstream.

The Pennaiyar river flows through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and has been a long-standing source of dispute between the two states over water utilisation.