Today(on 16th July),The Tamil Nadu Assembly’s legislative party leaders decided to potentially approach the Supreme Court to secure Cauvery water from Karnataka, following Karnataka’s refusal to release water as directed by the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC).
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CHENNAI: Today(on 16th July), The Tamil Nadu Assembly’s legislative party leaders decided to approach the Supreme Court if necessary to secure Cauvery water from Karnataka. The decision emerged from a high-stakes meeting , which saw strong condemnation of Karnataka’s refusal to release water as directed by the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC).
Key Resolutions and Condemnation
A resolution adopted at the meeting denounced Karnataka’s actions, highlighting the state’s failure to comply with the CWRC’s directive of releasing one TMC ft of water daily. Another resolution urged the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to enforce Karnataka’s compliance with the Cauvery Tribunal and the Supreme Court’s orders.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, speaking at the all-party meeting convened by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), expressed strong disapproval of Karnataka’s stance.
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He stated-
“This all-party meeting vehemently condemns the Karnataka government for not releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. We urge the CWRC to mandate the Karnataka Government to release the water as per the Supreme Court and CWMA orders.”
Rekindling the Water Dispute
The longstanding water dispute between the two southern states escalated once again when Karnataka announced on Sunday that it would release only 8,000 cusecs of water from the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu, instead of the required one thousand million cubic meters (TMC). The decision followed an all-party meeting in Bengaluru, attended by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, BJP leader CT Ravi, and other state leaders.
Siddaramaiah explained-
“The consensus is that we cannot release 1 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu daily. Instead, we have decided to appeal to the court and have agreed to release 8,000 cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu.”
He further elaborated that the Cauvery basin dams held only 63 percent of their capacity, making it unfeasible to release one TMC daily. One TMC equals 11,500 cusecs of water, with one cusec unit equating to 28.317 liters per second.
Tamil Nadu’s Response and Supreme Court Verdict
In response to Karnataka’s decision, CM Stalin condemned the move and called for an all-party meeting to address the issue.
“As of July 15, 2024, while the total storage in Karnataka’s four main dams is 75.586 TMC ft, the water level in Tamil Nadu’s Mettur reservoir is only 13.808 TMC ft.”
-Stalin noted in a statement.
The Supreme Court’s verdict in February 2018 outlined the water-sharing arrangements, specifying that Karnataka must release 177.25 TMC ft of water annually to Tamil Nadu at Biligundulu, with 123.14 TMC ft scheduled for release from June to September during the South-west monsoon.
Impact of Monsoon Variability and Water Crisis
The availability of water in the Cauvery river basin is highly dependent on the monsoon rainfall in Karnataka. Poor rainfall in 2023 led to a drought-like situation, exacerbating the water crisis. By March 2024, Bengaluru and many parts of Karnataka were grappling with severe water shortages. The state government assessed 7,082 villages and 1,193 wards as vulnerable to drinking water crises, with 174 villages and 120 wards in Bengaluru Urban district identified as particularly at risk.
As the water dispute intensifies, Tamil Nadu’s decision to potentially involve the Supreme Court underscores the critical nature of the issue. The state hopes that legal intervention will enforce compliance with established water-sharing agreements, ensuring that Tamil Nadu receives its fair share of Cauvery water.
