Karnataka rejects CWRC order on 6,000 cusecs Cauvery release to Tamil Nadu

Karnataka's push to safeguard its share of Cauvery water hit a setback on Tuesday, September 8, after the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) directed the state to release 6,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu, prompting Water Resources Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy to call the order "illogical" and announce that the government was seriously considering a Supreme Court appeal.

Earlier in the day, ahead of the high-level CWRC and Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) meetings in New Delhi convened to review rainfall, reservoir levels and crop conditions, Cheluvarayaswamy had said Karnataka would strongly present its "ground reality" — the state's water shortage and farmers' concerns — before the authorities. A team of senior officials had already reached Delhi for the meetings, following a preparatory review chaired by the state's Additional Chief Secretary on Monday.

Once the CWRC order came through, the minister said Tamil Nadu had originally demanded 17,000 cusecs, but inflows into the Cauvery basin had declined sharply over the past week, making even the reduced 6,000-cusec release extremely difficult for Karnataka to sustain. He said the authorities in Delhi were disconnected from ground realities and had issued similar orders in the past without fully assessing the situation on the ground.

With the subsequent CWMA meeting on Tuesday afternoon offering little relief, as Karnataka had anticipated, Cheluvarayaswamy said the government would discuss the matter with the Chief Minister and was seriously considering filing a petition before the Supreme Court as early as Wednesday. He also reiterated Karnataka's argument that Tamil Nadu has been using more than its allotted share of Cauvery water for agriculture, noting that the Supreme Court had previously cautioned Tamil Nadu against approaching it over every dispute.

On managing water within the state, the minister said roughly half of Karnataka's existing reservoir storage had been set aside for drinking water needs. Farmers were being supplied through the Bhadra and Upper Krishna Project systems, while additional water was released to the Chitradurga region to prevent shortages, alongside efforts to fill lakes and ponds in the Hemavathi basin through the Harangi and KRS reservoirs.

Cheluvarayaswamy noted that Karnataka had already released more than 40 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu on three separate occasions in the past, despite initial resistance each time — a history that has left farmers in Mandya district warning the government against any further releases this time.

The minister also took a swipe at the BJP-led opposition's ongoing padayatra over the Cauvery issue, saying people across Karnataka understood its underlying motives, while sarcastically wishing good health to participants, including BJP leader R. Ashoka.