Supreme Court seeks Karnataka reply on Tamil Nadu's Cauvery water plea

The Supreme Court asked Karnataka to respond to Tamil Nadu's plea on Cauvery water release. The row now hinges on how the CWMA assesses the claimed deficit amid a severe drought.

In Short

• Tamil Nadu told the court it faces a 20 TMC water shortfall
• Karnataka said it was releasing water despite a terrible drought year
• The bench said deficit grievances must be decided by the CWMA

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Karnataka government to respond to Tamil Nadu's plea seeking release of its share of Cauvery river water, with Tamil Nadu alleging a shortfall in supply and Karnataka saying it was facing a "terrible drought situation".

Hearing the matter, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Augustine George Masih and Sandeep Mehta said Tamil Nadu's grievance over the alleged deficit would have to be considered by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).

The court gave Karnataka a week to file its response and posted the matter for hearing on October 12.

Senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan, appearing for Tamil Nadu, said the state had already lost the early Kharif crop due to lack of water and argued that the CWMA must pass an order on the shortfall to address the deficit.

When the bench asked, "What is the shortfall?", Vaidyanathan replied, "According to us, it is 20 TMC." He also said, "They (CWMA) must pass an order with regard to the shortfall."

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for Karnataka, told the court that the state was complying with the CWMA's directions on release of water.

"We are complying with whatever directions have been passed despite the fact that this is a drought year," he said. He added, "In the present year, we are facing a terrible drought situation. CWMA is an expert body and both the parties are heard there."

Divan also argued that all factors were being considered by the CWMA, while the court was told that the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) was reviewing the situation every 15 days.

The bench observed, "The right of the party to have their grievances adjudicated by the CWMA cannot be denied. They (Tamil Nadu) have raised a grievance about deficit and the CWMA has to take a call on that."

The court was also told that Karnataka was releasing 6,000 cusecs of water in line with the CWMA's September 8 direction, which upheld the CWRC's recommendation to ensure that flow to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.

The case relates to Tamil Nadu's plea seeking directions to Karnataka for immediate release of Cauvery water. The Supreme Court had earlier asked Tamil Nadu to place its grievance over release of its proportionate share before the CWMA.

On August 25, the CWMA upheld the CWRC's recommendation directing Karnataka to ensure a flow of 9,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.

Earlier, the CWRC had directed Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days from August 12, and that decision was later upheld by the CWMA. On August 17, the apex court had asked Karnataka to ensure compliance with the CWMA's direction on release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu had moved the apex court on August 3, saying it was not getting its due share of Cauvery water in a rain-deficient year and claiming that the quantity allocated by the CWRC, as well as the amount released by Karnataka, was too little. The matter will now be taken up again on October 12 after Karnataka files its response.

- Ends