The sharing of the waters of the nearly 770-km-long Cauvery, primarily between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, has been in dispute for the last four decades, and thanks to the copious rains during the current southwest monsoon, it is all set to be put on the back burner for the present. The heavy rain in the catchment areas of the river leading to all the basin reservoirs in the upper riparian State being filled to the brim has resulted in water being released to Tamil Nadu much more than what has been directed by the Supreme Court.
As on date, Karnataka has released over 60 tmcft of water at Biligundlu (the gauging station of the Central Water Commission located at the border with Tamil Nadu) which is much more than what it ought to have released in June and July, and should the same quantum of release continue (an estimated rate of one lakh cusecs), then it will cover up even the release to be made in August. As per the recent orders of the apex court, the maximum release in a water year is in August and it should be 45.95 tmcft in a normal year. It is the first time since 2006 that the Krishnaraja Sagar is full to the brim in July; in 2013 it got filled up in August.
The coalition government in Karnataka headed by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy is presently more than happy, but then, the available water in the Cauvery occupies the centre stage year after year, given the inter-State ramifications and the disputes in the apex court. It is the first time in over a decade that water is being released in such a large quantum and there is every likelihood that even the huge Stanley reservoir (Mettur Dam) will fill up. The water holding capacity at Mettur (94 tmcft) is nearly equivalent to the combined full-reservoir level of the Hemavati, Kabini, Harangi, and Krishnaraja Sagar reservoirs.
It is another matter that despite the latest orders of the Supreme Court and that of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (dissolved earlier this week), Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are expected to continue with their legal disputes since the inter-State river water issue has become a part and parcel of vote bank politics. In recent weeks, the rising political star, Kamal Haasan, called on Mr. Kumaraswamy within days after he took charge as Chief Minister and requested for release of water even as the southwest monsoon was just about to set in.
Karnataka is expected to file an original suit in the Supreme Court against the direction to constitute the Cauvery River Management Authority. In the view of the authorities here, the State government should necessarily have a control over the reservoirs and cannot be arm-twisted by other agencies in such matters.
Incidentally, the Chief Minister and Minister for Water Resources D.K. Shivakumar were in Delhi early this week to have discussions with all the members of Parliament from the State and impress upon them to fight for the interests of the State, particularly on the Cauvery issue.
Thus, rain or drought, the Cauvery issue is an important political weapon, particularly for regional parties such as the Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka and the AIADMK and the DMK in Tamil Nadu although the national parties — the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party — stay away from utilising river water issues for political ends. The heavy rain during the southwest monsoon has come about as a dampener since water politics cannot find a place in the strategy of the parties during the run-up to the elections to the Lok Sabha.
(The writer is Resident Representative, The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, Bengaluru)
