At an all party meeting convened by the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday it was decided to appeal the order of CWRC to release water to Tamil Nadu.
At the third meeting of the Karnataka Cauvery Water Control Committee which was held on Sunday to discuss the directive from the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) instructing the State to release 1 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) of water daily to Tamil Nadu until the end of the month, it was concluded that it would not be possible to release the full 20 tmc of water directed by the regulatory body. Karnataka has said it will only release 8,000 cusecs of water per day instead of one tmc per day, which is 11,500 cusecs.
“In a typical year, the mandate requires the release of 9.4 tmc ft in June and 31.24 tmc ft in July, totaling 40.43 tmc ft. Currently, over 5 tmc ft of water has already been released”, said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He added that if there is no rain they will minimise release of water and file an appeal.
At the all-party meeting held with ministers, MLAs, and officials from the Cauvery riverbanks, it was decided to file an appeal before the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) in the advise of lawyers representing the State.
The meeting was held at Vidhan Souda and was attended by Deputy Chief Minister and Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka, Former Chief Minister Sadanand Gowda, Cabinet Members, Cauvery Basin MPs, MLAs, Chief Secretary Rajneesh Goel, among others. During the meeting representatives from BJP, JDS, farmers’ associations, and Mohan Kataraki, head of the legal team, expressed their views.
“Currently, the Cauvery reservoirs are 63 per cent filled, with the Kabini reservoir at full capacity. Over the past two days, water discharge rates were 20,000 and 19,000 cusecs respectively, with an additional 13,000 cusecs released today. Only surplus water that couldn’t be stored was released,” CM said
Siddaramaiah added, “Based on legal advice, it is advisable to file an appeal with the Cauvery Water Management Committee (CWMC) unless heavy rainfall occurs. In case of significant rainfall, the CWMC’s complete water release order should be followed based on the amount of rainfall received. Alternatively, it is suggested to release only 8,000 cusecs of water to avoid unnecessary conflict with CWMC.”
Tussle for water
The Cauvery River has been a centre of long-standing conflict between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka that dates to over 150 years. The two States have disputes especially in years with weak southwest monsoon. The genesis of conflict rests from two agreements in 1892 and 1924 between Mysore Princely state and Madras Presidency.
The 1924 verdict by the British Presidency was heavily criticized for being one-sided and favoring the Madras Presidency. Later, in 2018, the Supreme Court upheld the water-sharing arrangements determined by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT). These arrangements allocated 404.25 tmc ft to Tamil Nadu, 284.75 tmc ft to Karnataka, 30 tmc ft to Kerala, and 7 tmc ft to Puducherry.
“The crux of the issue lies not in water distribution but in politics. For both States, withdrawing from the dispute is difficult due to its emotional resonance. Resolving water disputes requires a negotiated settlement where both parties have something to gain. It is also crucial to define what constitutes a rainfall deficit. Thus, whenever there is a conflict between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over water release, emotions and political considerations inevitably complicate matters,” said Sandeep Shastri, Director - Academic, Nitte Education Trust.
The dispute may even lead to friction in the UPA alliance as both Congress and DMK which rule over Karnataka and TN respectively are a part of it.
The rain-fed Cauvery River has been receiving irregular rainfall over the years. According to the Cauveri Basin Report, the rainfall in the lower sub-basin in 1994 was 804.64, which dropped to 241.88 in 2002. The lack of predictability in rainfall caused by climate change coupled with increased demand has been the cause for the ongoing water tussle which calls for negotiation.
Additional inputs from PTI