The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to intervene either in favour of Karnataka or Tamil Nadu in the Cauvery water dispute, instead it banked on the combined expertise of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) and the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to manage the water sharing between the two neighbouring States.
A three-judge Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai said the CWMA and the CWRC, both represented by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, were regularly meeting every 15 days to review the water flow with due regard to the distress faced by both the States.
Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and G. Umapathy, for Tamil Nadu, said the CWRC had initially decided that the State required 7,200 cusecs of water from Karnataka, but had abruptly, in its final order, reduced the amount to 5,000 cusecs a day. The CWMA had in turn confirmed the CWRC order that Karnataka has to ensure Cauvery water releases from the Krishna Raja Sagara and Kabini reservoirs put together, so that the flows were realised at Biligundulu at the rate of 5,000 cusecs. Ms. Bhati submitted that the CWRC/CWMA orders had ensured a cumulative flow of water from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu amounting to 1,49,898 cusecs from August 12 to 26.
‘Dire necessity’
Mr. Rohatgi argued that the CWMA had “mechanically accepted” the CWRC decision. The State said the release of water was a dire necessity to meet the pressing demands of the standing crops.
On the other hand, senior advocate Shyam Divan, for Karnataka, said the daily flow of 5,000 cusecs of water was “against the interest” of the State. The State, especially in urban areas like Bengaluru, was on the brink of a drinking water crisis whereas Tamil Nadu was in need of water for only irrigation. Mr. Divan said the distress in Karnataka had increased in the past 15 days.
“The authorities should not have ordered Karnataka to give more than 3,000 cusecs per day,” Mr. Divan submitted.
“This water year of 2023-24 has begun on a bad note. The south-west monsoon which feeds the catchment in Karnataka has failed miserably. Even at the reservoir level, which covers a part of the catchment, the shortfall is 53.42%. If the shortfall is considered up to the inter-State border Biligundulu, where flows are accountable, shortfall and distress would be much more than 53.42%,” Karnataka said in its latest application.
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The Bench, also comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and P.K. Mishra, expressed satisfaction that the CWRC and the CWMA had considered all the factors, especially the drought situation, before fixing the water release at the rate of 5,000 cusecs. The court said the factors considered by the CWRC and the CWMA were neither irrelevant nor extraneous.
Tamil Nadu had originally moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to Karnataka to forthwith release 24,000 cusecs of Cauvery water from its reservoirs at Biligundulu for the remaining period of August, starting from August 14. Tamil Nadu had at the time urged the apex court to direct Karnataka to ensure the stipulated releases for September 2023 (36.76 tmcft) as per the Cauvery Tribunal award modified by the Supreme Court in 2018.
