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.
