Tamil Nadu moves SC over water allocation
NEW DELHI: The Tamil Nadu government on Monday approached the Supreme Court over the Cauvery water-sharing dispute, alleging that the quantum of water allocated by the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) and the amount released by neighbouring Karnataka fell short of its entitlement.The petition was filed on the directions of chief minister C Joseph Vijay after consultations with senior advocates, according to an official release.”On the direction of the chief minister, to find a solution to this issue and get Tamil Nadu’s due share of water on time, a petition has been filed in the Supreme Court,” the release said.The petition said that, as of August 3, the combined storage in Karnataka’s four major Cauvery reservoirs—Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS), Kabini, Harangi and Hemavathi—stood at 77.537 thousand million cubic feet (TMC), and argued that the state was in a position to release Tamil Nadu’s proportionate share without difficulty.It further stated that following recent rainfall in the catchment areas of the KRS and Kabini reservoirs, the proportionate flow due to Tamil Nadu at the Biligundlu gauging station should have been 26.954 TMC.”Accordingly, the Cauvery Water Management Authority order allocating 4.536 TMC is very less,” the release added.The petition alleged that Karnataka had “failed” to release Tamil Nadu’s due share of Cauvery water, which it said stood at 26.954 TMC. It added that Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay directed the state to move the Supreme Court, on the advice of senior advocates, to secure a “due order”.The move comes amid renewed tensions between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the sharing of Cauvery waters during the ongoing monsoon season. Last week, the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) upheld the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s recommendation directing Karnataka to release 3,500 cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.
Join conversation
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
The CWMA was constituted by the Centre in 2018 following the Supreme Court’s final verdict on the decades-old Cauvery river water dispute involving Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry. The authority comprises representatives of the four riparian states along with a nominee of the central government and is tasked with overseeing the implementation of the court-mandated water-sharing arrangement.
