Karnataka to consult legal team on Cauvery water after SC direction

Karnataka Major and Medium Irrigation Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy on Monday said the state government is consulting the legal team and officials to decide on the next course of action, following the Supreme Court's directions on releasing Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu.

Highlighting the water crunch in the basin, he said rains in the Cauvery catchment area have reduced, leading to a drop in inflow into dams, and there will be "difficulty" in fulfilling discharge targets from the Kabini reservoir.

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Karnataka government to ensure compliance with the Cauvery Water Management Authority's (CWMA) direction on the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

While the Tamil Nadu government claimed before the court that the CWMA's direction was not being complied with, the Karnataka government said the picture being projected was "extremely incorrect".

"The court has said status-quo and has posted the matter to next Monday. We had requested the dismissal (of the Tamil Nadu plea) and allow us to file for a review before the CWMA, asking to reduce (the quantity of water to be released in its order)," Cheluvarayaswamy said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said he is consulting the state's legal team on the development.

"Our plan is to go before the CWRC and CWMA requesting reduction, but the opportunity for that has been tightened till next Monday. I will discuss with the Additional Chief Secretary, legal team regarding the alternate measure. The rains have reduced, inflow into the dams is decreasing, and there will be difficulty with the water flowing out from the Kabini dam. I will discuss all this with the ACS and the legal team and bring things to the notice of the CM, to decide on the further step," he added.

The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) had directed Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days from August 12. The CWMA subsequently upheld the decision.

On Monday, the Tamil Nadu government's plea seeking directions to the Karnataka government for immediate release of the water to it came up for hearing before a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.