PARAGRAPH, WORDS AND MEANINGS
TOPIC OF THENDAY –
Cauvery Water Issue: At Last, A Scheme –
Now that the Karnataka election is over, the Centre has finally mustered the courage to submit a draft scheme in the Supreme Court to implement the final decision on apportioning the Cauvery waters among the riparian States. The draft, which gives no name for the authority it proposes to create to monitor implementation of the Cauvery Tribunal’s final award, as modified by the Supreme Court, has been largely drawn from the Tribunal’s directions. It will be a two-tier structure, with an apex body charged with the power to ensure compliance with the final award, and a regulation committee that will monitor the field situation and water flow. The powers and functions of the authority are fairly comprehensive. Its powers would extend to apportionment, regulation and control of Cauvery waters, supervision of operations of reservoirs and regulation of water releases. The draft makes the authority’s decisions final and binding. However, there is an ambiguous clause: if the authority finds that any one of the States is not cooperative, it can seek the Centre’s help, and the Centre’s decision will be final and binding. This can be seen either as an enabling clause to resolve the situation when there is a stand-off, or as one that gives scope to the Centre to intervene on behalf of one State. To allay apprehensions of the Centre acting in a partisan manner, it would be better if it is not given the final say but mandated to help in the implementation of the Tribunal’s award at all times.
There are a few differences between the Cauvery Management Board envisaged by the Tribunal and the authority proposed in the scheme. The Tribunal favoured the chairperson being an irrigation engineer with not less than 20 years of experience in water resources management, whereas the scheme says the chairperson could be a senior and eminent engineer with wide experience in water resources management or an officer in the rank of Secretary or Additional Secretary to the Union government. Similarly, the representatives from the four States would be administrators rather than engineers as proposed by the Tribunal. It is possible that Karnataka and Tamil Nadu may have differing views on the nature and powers of the authority, as well as its name and composition. But it is vitalthat all States accept the mechanism, and that the authority itself have adequate autonomy. The Cauvery dispute has dragged on for several decades, and it would be unfortunate if the implementation of a final decision arrived at through rigorous adjudication is not monitored by an independent authority. All States should agree to the broad contours of this scheme and comply with the authority’s decisions. The most welcome feature of such a mechanism is that an issue concerning the livelihood of thousands of farmers will be taken out of the political domain and entrusted to experts.
WORDS AND MEANINGS –
Muster
Meaning: Assemble (troops), especially for inspection or in preparation for battle.
Example: “17,000 men had been mustered on Haldon Hill”
Synonyms: Assemble, Bring together.
Apportion
Meaning: Divide up and share out.
Example: “Voting power will be apportioned according to contribution”
Synonyms: Share out, Divide out.
Riparian
Meaning: Relating to or situated on the banks of a river.
Example: “All the riparian states must sign an agreement”
Compliance
Meaning: The action or fact of complying with a wish or command.
Example: “The ways in which the state maintains order and compliance”
Ambiguous
Meaning: Open to more than one interpretation; not having one obvious meaning.
Example: “Ambiguous phrases”
Seek
Meaning: Attempt to find (something).
Example: “They came here to seek shelter from biting winter winds”
Synonyms: Search for, Try to find.
Resolve
Meaning: Settle or find a solution to (a problem or contentious matter).
Example: “The firm aims to resolve problems within 30 days”
Synonyms: Settle, Sort out.
Stand–off
Meaning: Move or keep away.
Example: “The women stood off at a slight distance”
Intervene
Meaning: Take part in something so as to prevent or alter a result or course of events.
Example: “He acted outside his authority when he intervened in the dispute”
Synonyms: Intercede, Involve oneself.
Allay
Meaning: Diminish or put at rest (fear, suspicion, or worry).
Example: “The report attempted to educate the public and allay fears”
Synonyms: Reduce, Diminish.
Apprehension
Meaning: Anxiety or fear that something bad or unpleasant will happen.
Example: “He felt sick with apprehension”
Synonyms: Anxiety, Angst.
Partisan
Meaning: Prejudiced in favour of a particular cause.
Example: “Newspapers have become increasingly partisan”
Synonyms: Biased, Prejudiced.
Envisage
Meaning: Contemplate or conceive of as a possibility or a desirable future event.
Example: “The Rome Treaty envisaged free movement across frontiers”
Synonyms: Foresee, Predict.
Favoured
Meaning: Preferred or recommended.
Example: “She was his favoured candidate”
Eminent
Meaning: (Of a person) famous and respected within a particular sphere.
Example: “One of the world’s most eminent statisticians”
Synonyms: Illustrious, Distinguished.
Vital
Meaning: Absolutely necessary; essential.
Example: “Secrecy is of vital importance”
Synonyms: Essential, Indispensable.
Autonomy
Meaning: The right or condition of self-government.
Example: “Between the First and Second World Wars, Canada gained greater autonomy from Britain”
Drag
Meaning: (Of time) pass slowly and tediously.
Example: “The day dragged—eventually it was time for bed”
Synonyms: Become tedious, Appear to pass slowly.
Adjudication
Meaning: A formal judgement on a disputed matter.
Example: “An adjudication had found a degree of unwarranted infringement of privacy”
Contour
Meaning: An outline representing or bounding the shape or form of something.
Example: “She traced the contours of his face with her finger”
Synonyms: Outline, Shape.
Comply
Meaning: Act in accordance with a wish or command.
Example: “We are unable to comply with your request”
Synonyms: Abide by, Act in accordance with.
Livelihood
Meaning: A means of securing the necessities of life.
Example: “People whose livelihoods depend on the rainforest”
Synonyms: Income, Source of income.
Entrusted
Meaning: Put (something) into someone’s care or protection.
Example: “You persuade people to entrust their savings to you”
Synonyms: Hand over, Give custody of.
