For a “sophisticated and global” Bengaluru, the Supreme Court admittedly digressed from the iron rule of the National Water Policy that places outside a river basin should not enjoy the water from the river. Allocating Karnataka 4.75 TMC water from Tamil Nadu’s share for use in Bengaluru, a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra reasoned that Bengaluru deserves a leeway.
The apex court said Bengaluru’s “exclusive attributes” make it “incomparable in many ways not only to other urban areas in the State, but also beyond”.
‘Nerve centre of significance’
“The city of Bengaluru has burgeoned over the years and has grown today into a progressively sophisticated, sprawling, vibrant and a much aspired seat of intellectual excellence particularly in information technology and commercial flourish. It has transformed into a nerve centre of contemporaneous significance. Its population is daily on the rise, thus, registering an ever- enhancing demand for all civic amenities,” the judgement explained.
The judgement, for one, pointed to how the Cauvery Tribunal “drastically reduced” Karnataka's share of the river water on the ground that only one-third of Bengaluru falls within the river basin. The tribunal had also presumed that Bengaluru's groundwater supply would meet 50% of its drinking water requirement.
“The view of the Tribunal ignores the basic principle pertaining to drinking water and is thus unsustainable. Keeping in mind the global status the city has attained, an addition of 4.75 TMC is awarded to Karnataka,” Chief Justice Misra wrote in the judgement he authored.
Karnataka had produced materials to show that Bengaluru would require a projected 30 TMC in the next 20 to 25 years. The water requirement for the urban population is 8.70 TMC.
