Cauvery Water Dispute | Karnataka Cites Low Rainfall, Objects To Tamil Nadu Plea In Supreme Court

In a new development in the Cauvery water dispute, the State of Karnataka has filed before the Supreme Court a counter affidavit referring to Tamil Nadu's plea, which had sought to direct Karnataka to release 24,000 cusec of Cauvery water daily for standing crops, as wholly 'misconceived'. It may be noted that on 21 August 2023, CJI DY Chandrachud had agreed to constitute a Supreme Court bench to hear the matter upon mentioning by Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi. The matter was then listed before a bench of Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and Prashant Kumar to be heard on August 25, 2023.

In its reply to the prayers of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka has stated that Tamil Nadu's application is wholly misconceived as it is based on an incorrect assumption that the current water year is a normal water year and not a distressed water year. Karnataka stated that rainfall has been lesser by 25% and inflow into four reservoirs of Karnataka has been lesser by 42.5%. In this context, Karnataka has asserted that the stipulated release of water shall not be applicable to this year. 

The State of Karnataka has further argued that the urgency pleaded by Tamil Nadu on the ground of saving standing crops is misleading. It has argued that the permissible area of Kuruvai rice crop which started on 12th June and goes up to end of September requires 32.27 TMC as estimated by the Cauvery water dispute Tribunal. Thus, the water requirement up to August 23 was 22.44 TMC and in the remaining period of the season would be about 9.83 TMC. Stating that Tamil Nadu has drawn excessive water, it has been stated that the 'irresistible conclusion' is that Tamil Nadu has drawn more water for cultivating large area of Kuruvai by exceeding the limit of 1.85 lakh acres as prescribed by the tribunal. 

As per the affidavit, during the current water year, the south-west monsoon has largely failed so far. Due to the same, a 'distress condition' has arisen in the Cauvery basin in Karnataka. It adds–

"Karnataka, therefore, is not obliged to and it cannot be compelled to ensure water as per the stipulated relief is prescribed for the normal year."

The State of Karnataka has also argued that Tamil Nadu has misused the carryover storage as the total water in the hands of Tamil Nadu should have been 96.545 TMC. However, Tamil Nadu has maintained a live storage of only 21.655 TMC. Thus, it has drawn 69.777 TMC excessively. The same, it has been stated, is in breach of the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. 

Arguing that Karnataka's needs are at a risk, the affidavit has highlighted that the total water available at the disposal of Karnataka in four reservoirs is not sufficient. It emphasises–

"The entire current storage plus likely inflow is not sufficient for the crops in Karnataka in for meeting the drinking water requirements of towns and villages including the mega city of Bangalore which is the technological hub of the world. Hence, Karnataka is reasonable needs are at a serious risk."

Finally, it has been contended that Karnataka has complied with the orders of the Cauvery Water Management Authority. Stating that the authority had directed for ensuring of 10,000 cusecs per day  for the next 15 days, it is highlighted that the State government of Karnataka issued directions for the release of water immediately and that the water released from the reservoirs takes 2 to 3 days to reach the interstate border at Biligundlu. 

Background

The Tamil Nadu government had approached the Supreme Court on August 14, 2023 seeking its intervention in compelling Karnataka to promptly release 24,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) of water from its reservoirs. The objective was to secure the specified volume of water at Biligundlu on the interstate border for the remaining part of the current month. The request also included a plea for the Court to instruct Karnataka to guarantee the release of the designated 36.76 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water as outlined for September 2023 in accordance with the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT)'s final decision from February 2007, which was subsequently modified by the Supreme Court in 2018.

The Cauvery water dispute is a long standing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and began in 1974 when Karnataka, the upper riparian State, started diverting water without Tamil Nadu's consent. The tussle reached Supreme Court after CWDT in 2007 finalised the water sharing formula. The award had come on February 5, 2007, and was gazetted by the Central government on February 19, 2013. Besides deciding on the sharing of water, the tribunal had recommended setting up a Cauvery Water Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee.

In 2018, a three-judges bench of the then Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Amitava Roy and AM Khanwilkar had directed the State of Karnataka to release 177.25 TMC of water, instead of the 192 TMC, to the State of Tamil Nadu.