THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- September 22, 2016- Topic 2
Judicial intervention often resolves
questions that the executive finds too sensitive to handle. By directing the
Centre to constitute a Cauvery Management Board within four weeks, the Supreme Court has created space for the water-sharing dispute to be handled in a
scientific and responsible manner by a legally constituted technical body. The
board, assisted by a regulation committee, is the mechanism prescribed by the
Tribunal in its final order for implementing its award. It will be a technical
body consisting of irrigation engineers and agronomists, and will have independent
members as well as representatives of the basin States. It can formulate the
manner in which water should be shared in a season of distress. The court’s
intervention also exposes the helplessness of governments at the Centre in
handling inter-State issues. It is part of a long historical pattern. It was at
the instance of the Supreme Court that the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal was formed more than a quarter century ago; and again, it required court
orders to pave the way for an interim award to be passed in 1991, and for it to
be notified in the Gazette of India later. It took another order for the
Tribunal’s final award of 2007 to be notified in 2013, six years later. The
court has done a significant service in nudging the Centre to provide a legal
and technical framework for the equitable distribution of water.
This is not the first attempt to create
an institutional mechanism. In 2013, the Centre notified the formation of a
‘Supervisory Committee’ consisting of the Secretary, Union Water Resources
Ministry, as chairman, and the Chief Secretaries of the basin States as
members. That the latest decision of the Supervisory Committee, which directed
the release of 3,000 cusecs of water for 10 days to Tamil Nadu, did not find favour with
either State shows the difficulties involved in managing inter-State disputes
even through an institutional mechanism. The Supreme Court, too, has intervened
to double the quantum of water to be released. All this shows that apart from
permanent mechanisms, technical panels and seasonal adjudication, a spirit of
accommodation is required among the basin States. Also needed is a clearer
appreciation of the fact that the entire water yield in the Cauvery basin is
not enough to provide for the requirements of both States. It is time for
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to take a hard look at their agricultural economies:
the area under cultivation, the number of crops per year and the
water-intensive nature of the crops. Unless these are adjusted to suit the
water availability, such disputes will keep surfacing.
Vocabulary
Intervention: the action or process of intervening.
Example: They are plants that grow naturally without human intervention
Agronomy: is the science and technology of producing and using
plants for food, fuel, fiber, and land reclamation.
Pave: cover (a piece of ground) with concrete, asphalt, stones, or bricks; lay
paving over.
Example: The yard at the front was paved with flagstones
Nudging: prod (someone) gently, typically with one's elbow, in order to draw their
attention to something.
Example: People were nudging each other and pointing at me
Synonyms: poke, elbow, dig, prod, jog, jab
Adjudication: the action or process of adjudicating.
Example: The matter may have to go to court for adjudication
Synonyms: judgment, decision, pronouncement, ruling, settlement, resolution
Prescribed: advise and authorize the use of (a medicine or treatment) for someone,
especially in writing.
Example: Dr. Greene prescribed magnesium sulfate
Synonyms: write a prescription for, authorize
Distress: extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain.
Example: To his distress he saw that she was trembling
Synonyms: anguish, suffering, pain, agony, torment, heartache
Appreciation: the recognition and enjoyment of the good qualities of someone or
something.
Example: I smiled in appreciation
Synonyms: valuing, treasuring, admiration, respect, regard
Yield: give way to arguments, demands, or pressure.
Example: The Western powers now yielded when they should have resisted
Synonyms: surrender, capitulate, submit, relent, admit
defeat
Intensive: concentrated on a single area or subject or into a short time; very
thorough or vigorous.
Example: She undertook an intensive Arabic course
Synonyms: thorough, thoroughgoing, in-depth, rigorous, exhaustive