NEW DELHI: The Karnataka government is seriously considering approaching the Supreme Court against the direction to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery river water daily to Tamil Nadu, state water resources minister N Chaluvarayaswamy said on Tuesday.The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) on Tuesday recommended that Karnataka ensure a flow of 6,000 cusecs to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.The recommendation was subsequently upheld by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).Chaluvarayaswamy described the CWRC order as “absurd” and said Karnataka was facing a difficult situation because inflows into the Cauvery basin had declined significantly over the past week.“Our officials strongly argued the ground realities at the CWRC meeting. Tamil Nadu had sought 17,000 cusecs of water. However, inflows into the Cauvery basin have declined considerably over the past week. In such a distress situation, even releasing 6,000 cusecs is impossible for us. We are making continuous efforts to ensure that no water is released,” Chaluvarayaswamy told reporters.Also read: CWMA directs Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs to Tamil Nadu for 15 days
Karnataka may approach SC
Chaluvarayaswamy said the state government did not expect much relief from the CWMA meeting and would discuss the issue with chief minister D K Shivakumar before deciding on approaching the Supreme Court.“…we will discuss the matter with the chief minister. The government is seriously considering filing a petition in the Supreme Court tomorrow itself,” he said.The minister also criticised authorities taking decisions from Delhi, saying they did not understand the situation on the ground.“The Constitution and administration benches sitting in Delhi do not understand the ground realities. There have been instances in the past when similar orders were issued without understanding the actual situation,” he said.
CWMA upholds 6,000-cusecs order
The CWMA on Tuesday upheld the CWRC recommendation directing Karnataka to ensure a flow of 6,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.The decision was taken at the 57th meeting of the CWMA in Delhi under the chairmanship of SK Haldar, with officials from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu participating.The latest direction followed the CWMA’s August 25 order, when it upheld a CWRC recommendation directing Karnataka to ensure a flow of 9,000 cusecs to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.The meeting came a day after the Supreme Court directed the Tamil Nadu government to raise its grievance over Karnataka’s release of its proportionate share of Cauvery water before the CWMA.At its August 24 meeting, the CWRC had directed Karnataka to release water from its reservoirs and ensure a flow of 9,000 cusecs at the Biligundulu border point for 15 days. Tamil Nadu was expected to receive approximately 11.66 TMC of water during that period.
Karnataka cites water storage concerns
The Karnataka minister said around 50% of the available water in the state’s various reservoirs was being reserved exclusively for drinking water purposes.“Water has been supplied to farmers’ crops as required through the Bhadra and Upper Krishna Project (UKP) in those regions. Water has also been released through the river to ensure there is no drinking water shortage in the Chitradurga region,” he said.
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He added that water from reservoirs was being managed in a controlled manner to fill lakes and ponds and prevent shortages for people and livestock.The latest order is part of a series of directions on Cauvery water releases. Earlier, the CWRC had directed Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days from August 12, with the CWMA subsequently upholding that decision.
