SC refuses to entertain plea concerning allocation of Cauvery river water

• The Supreme Court declines to entertain a fresh plea seeking re-allocation of 70 TMC of Cauvery water from Tamil Nadu to Karnataka, saying the two states are already contesting the dispute

• Karnataka says it has released excess water to Tamil Nadu and is complying with the CWMA’s direction to maintain a flow of 9,000 cusecs for 15 days

• Tamil Nadu maintains that it is not receiving its due share in a rain-deficient year and has sought the immediate release of additional Cauvery water from Karnataka

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain a fresh plea seeking re-allocation of Cauvery river water between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, observing that the dispute was already being contested by the two states.

A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said it would not be appropriate to entertain petitions filed by societies in an inter-state dispute that was already before the court.

“If we start entertaining petitions of societies in a dispute between two states, which are already contesting the matter, then there will be no end to it,” the bench observed.

The court was hearing a petition that, among several prayers, sought re-allocation of 70 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of Cauvery water to Karnataka from Tamil Nadu’s share.

The development comes amid an ongoing dispute over Karnataka’s release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, particularly in the wake of deficient rainfall in the region.

Karnataka has told the Supreme Court that it had released excess water to Tamil Nadu as of 31 August and was complying with the direction of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to ensure a flow of 9,000 cusecs to the neighbouring state.

On 25 August, the CWMA upheld a recommendation of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) directing Karnataka to maintain a flow of 9,000 cusecs to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.

Tamil Nadu, however, told the court that it had informed the authority about a backlog in the release of water, but no direction had been issued on the issue.

The Supreme Court was separately hearing Tamil Nadu’s plea seeking directions to Karnataka for the immediate release of Cauvery water.

On 17 August, the apex court had directed Karnataka to comply with the CWMA’s order on the release of water to Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu has maintained that it was not receiving its due share of Cauvery water in a rain-deficient year. The state government, led by chief minister M.K. Stalin, approached the Supreme Court on 3 August seeking directions to Karnataka for the immediate release of water.

In its plea, Tamil Nadu claimed that both the quantum allocated by the CWRC and the amount released by Karnataka were inadequate.

With PTI inputs