The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Karnataka government to respond within a week to Tamil Nadu’s application alleging a shortfall in the release of its share of Cauvery River water.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Augustine George Masih and Sandeep Mehta said Tamil Nadu’s grievance over the alleged deficit must be considered by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA). The matter has been posted for further hearing on October 12.
Senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan, appearing for Tamil Nadu, told the Court that the state estimates the shortfall at 20 TMC and has already lost an early Kharif crop because of inadequate water supply.
The bench observed that a party could not be denied the right to have its grievance adjudicated by the CWMA and said the authority would have to take a decision on Tamil Nadu’s complaint regarding the alleged deficit.
Karnataka Cites Drought Conditions
Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for Karnataka, submitted that the state was complying with the directions issued by the CWMA despite facing a severe drought situation.
He said the CWMA was an expert body where both states were being heard and all relevant factors were being considered. The Court was also informed that the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) was reviewing the situation every 15 days.
Tamil Nadu, however, maintained that the CWMA must specifically pass an order dealing with the alleged shortfall.
Water Release Directions
On September 8, the CWMA upheld a CWRC recommendation requiring Karnataka to ensure a flow of 6,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days. The Supreme Court was informed that Karnataka was releasing water at that rate in accordance with the direction.
Earlier, on August 25, the CWMA had upheld another CWRC recommendation directing Karnataka to ensure a flow of 9,000 cusecs for 15 days.
Before that, the CWRC had directed Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days beginning August 12. That decision was subsequently upheld by the CWMA.
On August 17, the Supreme Court had asked Karnataka to ensure compliance with the CWMA’s direction concerning the release of Cauvery water.
The Court had also earlier asked Tamil Nadu to place before the CWMA its grievance that Karnataka was not releasing its proportionate share of water.
Tamil Nadu’s Plea
The Tamil Nadu government approached the Supreme Court on August 3 seeking directions for the immediate release of Cauvery water by Karnataka.
In its plea, Tamil Nadu alleged that it was not receiving its due share of water during a rain-deficient year. It also claimed that both the quantity allocated by the CWRC and the amount actually released by Karnataka were inadequate.
The Supreme Court will take up the matter again on October 12 after Karnataka files its response.
