The Supreme Court on Thursday sought Karnataka’s response to an application filed by Tamil Nadu seeking directions for release of water to make good the alleged shortfall in Karnataka’s supply of Cauvery water to the neighbouring state.
The bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Vijay Bishnoi directed Karnataka to file its response within a week and posted the matter for hearing in October.
Tamil Nadu has claimed a shortfall of around 16 TMC of Cauvery water during the current irrigation year and sought directions for release of the deficit water on a pro-rata basis. Appearing for Tamil Nadu, Senior Advocate CS Vaidyanathan submitted that the shortfall had not been made good and that the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) had not passed any specific order addressing the deficit.
The bench sought clarification on the quantum of the alleged shortfall. Vaidyanathan said Tamil Nadu’s assessment was around 20 TMC, while Karnataka had assessed it at approximately 16 TMC. He submitted that despite Tamil Nadu raising the issue before the CWMA, the Authority had not specifically addressed the accumulated deficit and had instead issued directions for release of smaller quantities.
Senior Advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for Karnataka, opposed the plea, submitting that the State had released water in excess of the quantities directed by the CWMA despite facing drought-like conditions.
He argued that Karnataka had complied with the CWMA’s directions despite the prevailing conditions and submitted that the issue should first be considered by the statutory authority.
Divan further submitted that the CWMA had taken into account the historical levels of Karnataka’s reservoirs, declining inflows and rainfall forecasts while assessing the situation. He also pointed out that the monsoon was retreating and Karnataka had limited expectations of rainfall from the northeast monsoon, while Tamil Nadu was expected to benefit from it.
Justice Mehta observed that the parties’ right to have their grievances considered by the CWMA could not be denied. The Court accordingly directed Karnataka to file its response within a week and listed the matter for hearing in October.
Tamil Nadu had earlier approached the Supreme Court seeking enforcement of the CWMA’s direction requiring Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs of water daily from September 9 to September 23, besides seeking directions to make good the water shortfall accumulated during the preceding period.
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