Cauvery Water Row: Karnataka To Move Supreme Court Against 6,000-Cusecs Order

The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) has directed Karnataka to ensure a flow of 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu daily for 15 days, but the order has triggered a fresh escalation, with Karnataka preparing to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.

The CWMA, at its 57th meeting in New Delhi on September 8, upheld the recommendation of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC). The release is scheduled from September 9, despite Karnataka’s objections that its reservoir levels are currently “very critical” and that the state does not have sufficient water to spare.

Karnataka Water Resources Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy said on September 9 that the government had discussed the matter with Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and was preparing a petition before the Supreme Court after consulting its legal team. The government has also directed officials to file a review petition before the CWRC against its order.

Chaluvarayaswamy said Karnataka’s immediate priority should be drinking water, while there is also a need to replenish dried-up lakes and tanks. He said the situation could improve to some extent if the state receives good rainfall within a week following the Gowri-Ganesha festival.

The latest direction is lower than the previous order. On August 25, the CWMA had directed Karnataka to ensure 9,000 cusecs for 15 days. Earlier, the CWRC had recommended 12,000 cusecs daily for 15 days from August 12, a decision subsequently upheld by the CWMA.

Tamil Nadu had sought nearly 20,000 cusecs, citing irrigation and drinking-water requirements, particularly for Kuruvai cultivation. Karnataka, however, maintains that it is facing a distress situation because of poor water availability and declining inflows.

Karnataka has also maintained that it has complied with earlier directions, releasing around 33 TMC towards Tamil Nadu at the Biligundlu border point.

The dispute underscores the separate roles of the three institutions: the CWRC assesses water conditions and makes technical recommendations, the CWMA takes decisions and oversees implementation, while the Supreme Court provides judicial oversight and can hear legal challenges to the water-sharing framework and its implementation.

The latest CWMA decision followed a Supreme Court direction to Tamil Nadu to raise its grievance over Karnataka’s release of its proportionate Cauvery share before the authority. Karnataka is now preparing to take the latest dispute back to the apex court.