The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee has asked Karnataka to provide 3500 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days. Karnataka’s Water Resources Minister said that there is water shortage in the state and he will take a decision only after discussing it with the Chief Minister.
New Delhi [भारत]July 28 (ANI): The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) has recommended that Karnataka release 3500 cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu for the next 15 days. The committee has also recommended releasing a total of 4 TMC water.
Karnataka expressed inability
After the meeting in New Delhi, Karnataka Water Resources Minister Ramalinga Reddy reacted to the directive. “We are facing water shortage. I will discuss with the Chief Minister and then take a decision.”
“There has been no rain here. We need drinking water for the whole year,” he added.
On the possibility of appealing to the Cauvery Water Management Authority, the minister said, “We will discuss and take a decision on appealing to the Cauvery Water Management Authority.”
The state government is expected to take the final decision after discussions with Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
‘There is no water in our dams, it is only for drinking’
Earlier, at the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) meeting held on July 15, Karnataka had said it cannot release water to Tamil Nadu due to severe shortage in the Cauvery basin, said the office of Karnataka Irrigation Minister Ramalinga Reddy.
Karnataka officials told the committee that there was no rainfall in the Cauvery catchment area in June and the inflow of water into the reservoirs was zero.
“There has been some rainfall at some places in July, and a small amount of water has accumulated in dams. But there is no forecast of the monsoon gaining strength again,” Karnataka officials said.
Karnataka argued that the water currently stored should be used only for drinking purposes. The state argued, “There is no water stored in our dams. The water available now is limited for drinking. Karnataka is facing a rainfall deficit like we have never seen before.”
What is the whole controversy and the order of the Supreme Court?
However, Tamil Nadu insisted that the water should be released as per the Supreme Court decision.
This new controversy arose when Tamil Nadu demanded Karnataka to release Cauvery water to the state, which Karnataka rejected citing low rainfall and low storage of water.
The Supreme Court in 2018 had ordered Karnataka to release 177.25 TMC water to Tamil Nadu to resolve the long-running Cauvery river water dispute.
After defining the share of water in its 2018 judgment, in September 2023, the Supreme Court observed that the CWRC had passed an order, which was confirmed by the CWMA, directing Karnataka to release 5000 cusecs of water per day to Biligundulu in Tamil Nadu for 15 days from Krishnarajasagar and Kabini. (ANI)
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