The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) chairperson Saumitra Kumar Haldar has called for better agricultural and water management practices and the formation of a river board that will “own, operate, manage, and regulate” reservoirs in the entire Cauvery basin to resolve the vexatious dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the sharing of the river water. As for the idea of the river board, the CWMA chief referred to the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT)’s recommendation for the constitution of an implementation mechanism on the lines of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) “which is a basin authority, and not a regulatory body.” Everything is planned,” Mr. Haldar said. “Once the DVC releases water, the States, which have their own canal systems, use it in a synchronised manner. “Such coordinated and comprehensive institutions - the BBMB and the DVC - would be “the most effective set up” for the management of a basin, the CWMA chief said.