The Supreme Court directed the Karnataka government on Monday to strictly adhere to directions issued by the Cauvery Water Management Authority regarding the release of water to neighboring Tamil Nadu. A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta instructed Karnataka to ensure full compliance and scheduled a follow-up hearing for August 24 to review updated status reports on water discharge levels.
Interim Directives and Status Review
The direction follows an order by the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee mandating Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for a 15-day period that commenced on August 12. The Cauvery Water Management Authority subsequently upheld this decision. The court decided to defer proceedings for a week to allow both states to present documented status reports regarding actual water flow.
Tamil Nadu Alleges Non-Compliance
Appearing for Tamil Nadu, Senior Advocate C.S. Vaidyanathan informed the bench that Karnataka had failed to honor the mandated quota, leaving Tamil Nadu unable to supply required irrigation water to its agricultural sector. Defense counsel argued that Karnataka was actively releasing water for its own local farming needs while withholding Tamil Nadu’s allocated share despite holding 76 percent live storage across its reservoirs.
The Tamil Nadu administration, led by Joseph Vijay, had initially petitioned the apex court on August 3 seeking immediate intervention. According to state filings, Karnataka’s primary reservoirs—Krishna Raja Sagara, Kabini, Harangi, and Hemavathy—held a combined storage of 77.537 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) as of August 3. Tamil Nadu contended that recent rainfall in catchment areas should yield a proportionate flow of 26.954 TMC at the Biligundlu measuring point, rendering the authority’s interim allocation of 4.536 TMC insufficient. State officials also pointed out that an earlier regulatory directive requiring 3,500 cusecs daily from July 29 to August 11 resulted in actual recorded releases at Biligundlu of only 158 to 550 cusecs per day during the initial five-day stretch.
Karnataka Cites Deficit and Defends Supply Efforts
Representing Karnataka, Senior Advocate Shyam Divan rejected the claims, asserting that the picture presented to the court was inaccurate in every material respect. He stated that the Cauvery basin is experiencing an extremely severe distress year marked by significant water deficits, which requires regulatory balancing mechanisms.
Divan noted that while fulfilling the 12,000 cusecs daily mandate presents substantial operational difficulties for Karnataka, state authorities have issued formal instructions to maintain that rate. He explained that although flow rates were lower during the first three to four days of the current period, Karnataka will make up the remaining shortfall over the subsequent days.
