Karnataka on Saturday said its Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was not defying the Supreme Court and the State had indeed complied with the court’s orders of September 5 and 12 and released water to Tamil Nadu.
Seeking an urgent review of the Supreme Court’s orders to set up the Cauvery Management Board (CMB), Karnataka, in its petition said that through its Chief Minister, it was now “pleading the impossibility to further release water from its reservoirs”.
On the order to set up the CMB, Karnataka said the Board was vested with powers and functions which were “unnecessary” and “intrude” into the legislative and executive powers of the State. “This Hon’ble Court may not be correct in directing the constitution of Cauvery Management Board ... specially when the Cauvery Management Board is vested with the powers and functions which are not only unnecessary and intrude into Legislative and Executive power of the State derived from Entry 17 of the State list to the 7th Schedule of the Constitution,” the petition said.
It asked whether the Supreme Court, by disregarding the National Water Policy 2012, is “giving importance to the irrigation requirements of Tamil Nadu than the drinking water requirement of the Karnataka”.
It “may not be right” to direct Karnataka to release further waters to Tamil Nadu when the present live storage of water in the four reservoirs of Karnataka is insufficient even to meet the drinking water requirement of Bangalore city, towns and villages. It would cause “irreparable injury” to Karnataka. The water cannot be retrieved even in the case of a “good, normal North-East monsoon, the petition said. It said that from September 5 to September 29, Karnataka has ensured 17.05 tmc ft at Biligundlu.
