Tamil Nadu seeks Supreme Court direction for release of 17.604 tmcft Cauvery water

The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to Karnataka to release 17.604 tmcft of water from the Cauvery River, the balance quantity as of August 27, based on the pro-rata formula.

In a supplementary affidavit, the State also urged the court to order Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of water between August 26 and September 8, as directed by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) in its 56th meeting. Tamil Nadu further sought the court's intervention to direct Karnataka to make good the shortfall between the flows ensured at Billigundulu, a riverside village on the border between the two States, and the flows directed by the CWMA between August 27 and August 30.

The affidavit, settled by senior advocate G. Umapathy and re-settled by C.S. Vaidyanathan, said the "ground reality" is that the Cauvery Basin of Tamil Nadu is "very severely affected". Farmers of the Cauvery Delta are "seriously prejudiced" as the Kuruvai season is almost over, and Mettur could not be opened for irrigation for want of adequate storage. Cultivation of the samba crop has also been severely affected, causing great anxiety among the farming community, which is not getting its due share even on a pro-rata basis in the current water year.

A Bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath is scheduled to hear the case on August 31. In the previous hearing on August 24, the Supreme Court had advised Tamil Nadu to voice its concern about the release of the "proportionate" quantity of Cauvery water due from Karnataka before the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) and the CWMA in meetings scheduled during the week.

Tamil Nadu said that its member at the CWRC meeting held on August 24 had raised the State's entitlement to receive around 28 TMC. The member asked the CWRC to facilitate the release of around 22,000 cusecs (1.9 TMC per day) for 15 days starting from August 24. The State also submitted before the CWRC that Karnataka had already drawn over 20 TMC from its canals for irrigation and through anicut channels and lift irrigation systems, while Tamil Nadu had till date not been able to open the Mettur reservoir for irrigation.

However, the CWRC directed Karnataka to ensure releases from its reservoirs so that flows at the rate of 9,000 cusecs are realised at Billigundulu from August 25 till September 8. Tamil Nadu said the CWRC fixed 9,000 cusecs for the next 15 days without considering the accumulated backlog of 17.415 TMC as of August 23.

The State said it raised its grievance before the CWMA at its meeting on August 25 about the "gross inadequacy" of the CWRC order. Tamil Nadu urged the CWMA to direct Karnataka to ensure the release of 1.9 TMC per day from August 24 to September 7 to ensure that the backlog in terms of the pro-rata formula is also released by Karnataka.

The affidavit, filed by advocate B. Karunakaran, stated that the CWMA, without considering the purport of the scheme framed under Section 6A of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956, which mandates pro-rata releases in distress years, "scrupulously failed" to take steps to direct Karnataka to make good the same. It "mechanically affirmed" the recommendation of the CWRC and directed Karnataka to ensure only 9,000 cusecs per day from August 25 to September 8.