New Delhi/Bengaluru: The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) on Thursday upheld the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) directive requiring Karnataka to release 3,500 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu for the next 15 days, rejecting the state’s appeal for a review.
The decision was taken at an emergency meeting chaired by CWMA Chairman S.K. Haldar, where officials from both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu presented their submissions on the prevailing water situation.
Representing Karnataka, Additional Chief Secretary Gaurav Gupta argued that deficient monsoon rainfall had sharply reduced inflows into the state’s reservoirs, making it difficult to meet irrigation and drinking water requirements. Karnataka submitted that only 38.736 TMC of water had flowed into its four major reservoirs between June 1 and July 29, a 65.65% decline compared to the long-term average. The state urged the Authority to reconsider the release order in view of the weak monsoon and the impact of Super El Niño conditions.
Tamil Nadu, however, contended that Karnataka had failed to release the stipulated quantity of water even under the distress-sharing formula and sought implementation of the CWRC’s earlier directive.
After hearing both sides, the CWMA decided to retain the existing order and directed Karnataka to release a total of 4.5 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu over the next 15 days.
Following the Authority’s decision, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced that an all-party meeting would be held at Krishna, his official residence in Bengaluru, on August 2. He said former chief ministers, Union ministers, Members of Parliament and MLAs from the Cauvery basin would participate in the meeting to discuss the state’s legal and administrative options in response to the CWMA’s order.
