Karnataka to appeal against CWRC water release order on Cauvery
Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday said the State would file an appeal against the direction to release 4,000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily to Tamil Nadu.
He said the Government would discuss the matter and take a final decision on the next course of action, while indicating that the state was finding it difficult to release water due to declining rainfall and inflows into its reservoirs. The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) on Thursday recommended that Karnataka ensure a flow of 4,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.
The recommendation was subsequently upheld by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), official sources said.
“We will file an appeal. If there is water, we will release it. We don't have water, and the inflow has stopped. There is a lot of pressure on us. The rains have stopped. I will examine the situation. I will also discuss it with the Water Resources minister and let you know what we will do,” Shivakumar told reporters in response to a question.
Later in the day, state's Water Resources Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy said Karnataka couldn't accept the CWRC direction to release 4,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu.
He said the CWMA upholding the same order was contrary to the prevailing ground reality in Karnataka, particularly the rainfall deficit. “The water available with us has reduced further. How can we release 4,000 cusecs now,” he asked. Karnataka had presented data before the authority on the acute shortage of water in the KRS, Kabini, Hemavathi and Harangi reservoirs, declining inflows and deficient rainfall, and requested that the quantum be reduced to 3,000 cusecs, he said, according to a release.
“There is no need for an order to release 2,500 cusecs as that much water will flow naturally. How can we release water amid the impact of Super El Nino and drought,” the minister asked, urging neighbouring Tamil Nadu to understand Karnataka's situation.
He said the state's first priority was drinking water requirements of towns and villages in the Cauvery basin, including Bengaluru, rather than irrigation.
“We will once again place before the authorities the difficulties we will face in meeting drinking water requirements during summer if water is released now,” Cheluvarayaswamy said.
He said the Government would consult the state's legal team, including the Advocate General, and formulate its next course of legal action to protect Karnataka's interests.
Highlighting arguments made by Karnataka, the release from the minister's office said that the state's representatives explained the ground situation at the meeting and sought reduction of the release from 4,000 cusecs to 3,000 cusecs.
The four reservoirs in Karnataka have a combined storage of only 49.775 TMC, or 47.60 per cent. The state requires 29 TMC for drinking water, 10 TMC for environmental flows and 23.40 TMC for the kharif crop, it said.
Karnataka received only 406.5 mm of rainfall between June 1 and September 22, against the normal 643.4 mm, which is just 63.18 per cent of normal. Inflows into the reservoirs have fallen to just 2,200 cusecs, it added.
Nothing that the southwest monsoon is almost over and there is little expectation of further inflows, the state in its argument said, about 71 per cent of the taluks in the Cauvery basin, covering around 75 per cent of its geographical area, have been declared drought-hit.
Between July 29 and September 23, Karnataka released 4,47,182 cusecs (38.637 TMC) at Biligundlu, against the 4,21,500 cusecs stipulated by the CWMA, resulting in an excess release of 25,682 cusecs (2.219 TMC).
The southwest monsoon has failed due to the impact of Super El Nino, while an expert committee in Tamil Nadu has forecast heavy rainfall and flooding during the northeast monsoon. Tamil Nadu has 52.177 TMC of storage and remains in a comfortable position even without releases from Karnataka, the state argued.
