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Talks take Cauvery another step closer to finish

Notwithstanding the All India Anna DMK threat that it would review its support to the A B Vajpayee government, the Centre on Monday completed the formalities for the notification of a revised scheme to implement the interim award of the Cauvery water tribunal.

The chief secretaries of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, and the development commissioner of Pondicherry had a two-hour meeting this morning with Cabinet Secretary Prabhat Kumar to give finishing touches to the revised scheme.

Briefing reporters later, Kumar announced there was ''total consensus'' among the four riparian states on the issue.

Indications are that the scheme will be notified after presenting it to the Supreme Court on August 12.

Cut up with the dilution of the original draft scheme, AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalitha had announced that her party would review its support if the Centre did not notify the original scheme.

The first scheme, drafted by the United Front government, could not make headway because of stiff opposition from Karnataka on certain provisions relating to the monitoring committee.

UNI

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