Karnataka Challenges Cauvery Water Release to Tamil Nadu, Supreme Court to Hear Plea on September 14
Karnataka has approached the Supreme Court against the direction to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily to Tamil Nadu. The plea will be heard on September 14.
Karnataka has approached the Supreme Court challenging the direction to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery river water every day to Tamil Nadu. The state’s plea is scheduled to come up for hearing on September 14, Water Resources Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy said on Friday.
The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) had on Tuesday upheld the recommendation of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee, directing Karnataka to ensure a daily flow of 6,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.
Chaluvarayaswamy said Karnataka had continued releasing water to Tamil Nadu until the Supreme Court hearing on the advice of its legal team. He said approaching the court in violation of the CWRC direction could have affected the state’s petition.
The minister said Karnataka was facing an acute shortage of water and was in a difficult position while complying with the direction. He said the state had to follow the applicable orders within the constitutional framework governing relations between the states.
According to Chaluvarayaswamy, the amount of Cauvery water released to Tamil Nadu this year was the lowest in two decades. He said that even during previous years when Karnataka faced difficult water conditions, there had been instances of releasing around 35 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu.
The minister said the state government remained focused on protecting the interests of farmers. He added that officials and the legal team were preparing strong arguments for the Supreme Court hearing.
At present, irrigation water is being supplied to farmers in Karnataka on a rotational basis. The state government is also working to replenish lakes and tanks, the minister said.
He added that Karnataka planned to maintain adequate reserves in the four major Cauvery basin reservoirs to meet drinking water requirements from December through June.
Chaluvarayaswamy also said the government did not want the Cauvery issue to turn into a political blame game with the Opposition. He urged Karnataka BJP MPs and Union ministers to work towards securing central approval for the Mahadayi and Mekedatu projects, saying these projects could offer a long-term solution to the state’s water concerns.
The minister said discussions had already taken place with Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil regarding the Mekedatu project and expressed confidence that the required approval would be obtained soon.
On cloud seeding, Chaluvarayaswamy said the initial phase had not delivered the expected results. However, he expressed hope that improved weather conditions after the Gauri-Ganesha festival could make the exercise more effective.
