Cauvery water to TN: K’taka to decide future course, ensure no injustice to state, says minister

Karnataka is considering challenging in the Supreme Court the Cauvery Water Management Authority's (CWMA) direction to release 12,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days, with Water Resources Minister Ramalinga Reddy saying the quantity would be difficult for the state to spare.

The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC), which met in New Delhi on Tuesday, directed Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs daily from August 12. The CWMA subsequently upheld the direction.

Reddy said Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and he had discussed the order with lawyers in Delhi and irrigation experts in Karnataka and were examining the state's options.

"Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and I have held a detailed discussion on the order. We have spoken to our advocates in Delhi and irrigation experts in the state. Earlier, we were told to release 3,500 cusecs, which was okay, but now we are told to release 12,000 cusecs per day for 15 days. That amounts to 16 TMC, which will be too costly for us. It is not right," Reddy said.

He said Karnataka would have had fewer difficulties if it had been asked to release a smaller quantity, given the state's water availability.

"This is too high a quantity," he said.

Reddy said the monsoon had not been satisfactory in Karnataka's old Mysuru region and claimed that Tamil Nadu had adequate water in its reservoirs. He also said Karnataka's groundwater situation was more difficult.

"Our water table is too low here. Even if we go 800-1,000 feet, we don't get water, while they get water at much higher levels. Despite our Additional Chief Secretary, advocates and experts effectively putting forward our case with all these facts, the order has come. It will be difficult for us to release 16 TMC of water in 15 days. We have discussed it. We will decide what to do," he said.

Asked whether Karnataka would approach the Supreme Court, Reddy indicated that it was among the options being considered.

"We will have to go to the Supreme Court, that's all," he said.

"The CM has spoken to advocates in Delhi and experts. We will ensure that no injustice happens to the state," he added.

The latest order has also triggered protests in Karnataka's Cauvery basin districts. Farmers and activists in Mandya staged demonstrations against the directive, saying the region was already facing water shortages and that releasing 16 TMC could affect standing crops.

Some pro-Kannada organisations have called for a Karnataka bandh on Thursday against the water release order, while other groups have opposed the shutdown call.

Earlier, on July 28, the CWRC had directed Karnataka to release 3,500 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days. The CWMA subsequently upheld that direction. Karnataka had initially cited low reservoir storage and water scarcity as reasons for opposing the release, but began releasing water after heavy rainfall in the Cauvery catchment areas.

The fresh order has once again brought the long-running Cauvery dispute between the two states to the forefront, with Karnataka balancing the regulatory direction against its own irrigation and drinking-water requirements.