The Karnataka government has rejected Tamil Nadu’s request to release 15 tmc ft. of Cauvery water to make up for the shortfall in supply in the 2017-18 irrigation year.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the question of releasing water does not arise now as the State is facing severe water shortage. The Supreme Court is expected to pronounce its verdict next month on the Cauvery water dispute and he is expecting a favourable verdict to the State, Mr Siddaramaiah said.
With live storage water levels in four reservoirs - Kabini, Harangi, KRS and Hemavathi - less than 40 tmc ft. on January 13, it was not possible to meet the demand, he told presspersons in New Delhi.
Mr. Siddaramaiah was responding to his Tamil Nadu counterpart Edappadi Palaniswami’s letter to him requesting Karnataka to release 15 tmc ft. to meet the irrigation needs of farmers and to meet people’s drinking water needs.
Mr. Palaniswami said Karnataka could release 7 tmc ft. immediately and release the remaining within a fortnight.
