Cauvery row: TN moves SC to secure due share of water

The Tamil Nadu government on Monday (August 3) moved the Supreme Court over the Cauvery river water dispute with neighbouring Karnataka, saying the quantum allocated to it by the CWRC, as well as that released by its neighbour, was less.

An official release in Chennai said the government filed a petition in the apex court on the directions of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, who discussed the matter with senior advocates. Karnataka has “failed” to release Tamil Nadu's due share of Cauvery water, which amounted to 26.954 TMC, it said.

What Tamil Nadu said

A Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) meeting held on July 28 directed Karnataka to release 3,500 cusecs for 15 days starting July 29, an order upheld by the CWMA later. However, the quantum of water realised at Biligundlu ranged between 158-550 cusecs from July 29 to August 2, it said.

Also read: United on Cauvery: Shivakumar scores a win as all Karnataka parties back Mekedatu

As of August 3, the combined total storage in the reservoirs in Karnataka's KRS, Kabini, Harangi and Hemavathy, stood at 77.537 TMC and Karnataka would face no difficulty in releasing Tamil Nadu’s due share proportionately. Following rains in the catchment areas in the KRS and Kabini dams in Karnataka recently, the proportionate water expected to reach Biligundlu should be 26.954 TMC, it said. “Accordingly, the Cauvery Water Management Authority order allocating 4.536 TMC is very less,” the release added.

Karnataka hardens Cauvery stand

The petition comes a day after Karnataka convened an all-party meeting to chalk out its strategy in the Cauvery dispute and reaffirmed its support for the Mekedatu project.

Also read: Karnataka must release 3,500 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, orders CWMA

Former chief ministers, Union ministers, senior leaders from the Congress, BJP and JD(S), and legal experts agreed that temporary distress-sharing formulas cannot permanently solve the Cauvery dispute.

The leaders said the Mekedatu balancing reservoir would allow Karnataka to store excess water whenever the Kabini and Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) reservoirs are full, instead of letting it flow downstream. This stored water could later be released during dry periods.

What Karnataka CM said

Speaking after the meeting, Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said Karnataka had received 30–35 per cent below-normal rainfall this year, creating severe drought conditions. Tamil Nadu had demanded 9 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water, while the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) and the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) directed Karnataka to release 3,500 cusecs of water every day.

“Recent rains have increased inflows into the Kabini, KRS, Hemavathi and Harangi reservoirs to a combined 68,314 cusecs. According to the existing schedule, Karnataka should have released 40 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu by this stage. However, due to the poor monsoon, the state has released only 3.6 TMC so far—2.9 TMC in June and 0.7 TMC in July, including water released for the safety of the Kabini reservoir,” he said.

The Karnataka government has decided to challenge the CWMA’s directions in the Supreme Court. It will engage senior legal experts and seek advice from water experts to prepare a scientific distress-sharing formula.