Karnataka is expected to present a forceful plea before the Supreme Court on Monday, highlighting the poor rainfall in the Cauvery basin region and the consequent difficulty the State faces in ensuring adequate release of water to Tamil Nadu.
A Bench is hearing the matter, following a petition filed by Tamil Nadu, which has sought a direction to Karnataka for release of nearly 25 tmcft of water.
It is another matter that Karnataka has been letting all surplus water into the Kabini over the past 20 days, although the total quantum released so far to the lower riparian State is way below the stipulation for August, as made out in the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT). The CWDT order itself has been challenged in the court and is pending disposal.
Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar is stated to be personally monitoring the developments, along with Water Resources Minister Basavaraj Bommai. Discussions have been held with the State counsel and senior officials, and irrigation experts have been drafted to New Delhi to assist counsel.
Karnataka is expected to file its response on Monday, to enable the court to evolve a water-sharing formula in the present distress scenario. “How can we meet the demand of the neighbouring State when we ourselves are facing distress? The live storage in the four Cauvery reservoirs here — Krishnarajasagar, Kabini, Hemavathi and Harangi — is just 30 tmcft as of today, while it was more than 80 tmcft during the corresponding period last year,” sources in the State government told The Hindu .
The surplus water from the Kabini has been released over the past fortnight, and the gross release to Tamil Nadu, as on Saturday (Sept 1) is at the rate of around 6,000 cusecs. Meanwhile, a meeting of the Cauvery River Authority is expected to be convened shortly, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to discuss a distress-sharing formula. It is said Karnataka has so far not received any communication, although the Centre has conveyed to the court that a CRA meeting will be convened to consider Tamil Nadu’s plea. Karnataka is expected to convey to the court, if need be, that the storage in the four reservoirs, which touched a minimum drawdown level, approximately two months ago, owing to the late arrival of the southwest monsoon, has now vastly improved, particularly in the last fortnight, and that water release to the neighbouring State has also since been stepped up. The releases will be further increased should the Krishnarajasagar and the Hemavathi fill to the brim.
While the present level of the Krishnarajasagar is 103.36 feet against the maximum level of 124.80 feet, it is 2,912.55 feet in the Hemavathi (maximum 2,922 feet).
Karnataka will, however, argue the case particularly with reference to Tamil Nadu’s charge that it has taken up summer irrigation, utilising the storages and the inflows during that period, which is clearly against the final order of the CWDT.
