A technical body, empowered by the Supreme Court, has slashed by three fourths the quantum of Cauvery water that Karnataka is required to release downstream between September 21 and September 30 but has failed to get Karnataka and Tamil Nadu closer to a lasting solution over the water-sharing dispute.
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are expected to approach the Supreme Court on Tuesday to seek fresh directions.
The Cauvery Supervisory Committee (CSC) on Monday ordered Karnataka to release 3,000 cubic feet of water per second (cusecs) for the rest of the month, beginning Wednesday.
On September 5, the court ordered that 15,000 cusecs be released.
It modified the order on September 12, saying 12,000 cusecs should be released till September 20.
However, the decision on the quantum of release arrived at after calculating water availability in the river, monsoon performance, agricultural and drinking water requirements in both States, was rejected by both States, according to Shashi Shekhar, Secretary of Water Ministry and chair of the CSC, tasked by the SC to determine how much water Karnataka ought to release.
“We have passed our order and Karnataka has opposed any release of water,” said Mr. Shekhar, “It’s a question of being fair to other States.”
He said the committee arrived at its numbers by calculating the average inflow over the last 15 days.
The CSC, attended by top executives from the Central Water Commission, National Water Development Agency and representatives from Karnataka and T.N., also decided that the CWC would draw up a new protocol of online collection of data on rainfall and water flow on real time basis.
This was to be shared simultaneously with all the States concerned and help solve the fundamental problem of how much water was actually available to be shared and in a manner visible to monitors from both States.
The cost of developing this protocol will be proportionately shared by the three States and the UT of Puducherry, according to Mr. Shekhar.
To meet frequently The CSC said it would “meet frequently” to assess the situation and needs. The next meeting will be in October, with the CSC expected to meet once every month from February 2017 onwards until the Cauvery Management Board — as ordered by the Supreme Court — came into force.
The supervisory committee, at its previous meeting on September 12, had failed to arrive at any decision for want of adequate information on water availability.
