Cauvery Water Dispute: Karnataka Govt Moves SC, Seeks Direction To The CWMA To Reconsider Its Order

The Karnataka government on Wednesday filed an application before the top court seeking direction to the Cauvery Water Management Authority to reconsider its 18 September decision to ensure a flow of 5,000 cusecs of river water to Tamil Nadu till 29 September.

The State government in its application has claimed that the “water year of 2023-24 has begun on a bad note,” and the shortfalls in water inflow have not been taken into account by the Authority.

The Karnataka government further stated that “The South-West monsoon which feeds the catchment in Karnataka has failed miserably. The cumulative inflows into Karnataka’s 4 reservoirs from 1 June 2023 to 18 September 2023 are 110.875 tmc, whereas the average of the last 30 years has been 238.055 tmc. Therefore, even at the reservoir level itself, which covers a part of the catchment, the shortfall is 53.42 percent,” the application has said.

The matter is now scheduled to be heard before the Supreme court today.

Meanwhile, Karnataka CM Siddharamaiah also held an all-party meeting with Union ministers and MPs from the state in Delhi on Wednesday.

After the meeting CM Siddaramaiah said “We seek a stay on the CWMA order in the Supreme Court. We will appeal to the Supreme Court for an injunction against the CWMA order to release water to Tamil Nadu. We competently presented our actual situation before CWMA. There has been the lowest rainfall recorded in August in 123 years which causes increased distress in the state. We have no drinking water, no water for crop protection, no water for industry. So we are in a lot of trouble.”
CM of Karnataka further said that the Prime Minister should intervene in the matter as he has the jurisdiction to summon the people of both states.
“PM has the jurisdiction to summon the people of both the states. So we have appealed to the Prime Minister for his intervention. Further decisions will be taken after meeting with the Union Water Resources Minister. We have already identified 195 talukas in the state as drought-prone. There has been the lowest rainfall recorded in August in 123 years which causes increased distress in the state,” Siddaramaiah said.

The governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been locked in a protracted tussle over the sharing of Cauvery waters.

The river is seen as a major source of sustenance for the people in both the states. Karnataka has cited severe drought in parts of its state to refuse supply of water to Tamil Nadu.

On the other hand, the Tamil Nadu government has accused its neighbour of lying to the nation on the supply of water.
The Centre formed the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal on June 2, 1990, to adjudicate disputes between Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Puducherry with respect to their individual water-sharing capacities.