Karnataka to seek SC nod to release less Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu

Bengaluru: Karnataka government, which has been experiencing drought over the last few years, would urge the Supreme Court to allow it to release lesser quantum of Cauvery water to the neighbouring Tamil Nadu, a state minister said today.

Karnataka’s water resources minister M B Patil met senior advocate Fali S Nariman here to finalise the final written submission in this regard to be placed before the top court.

The apex court has reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the 2007 award of Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal (CWDT), which had ordered Karnataka to release 192 tmc of water for Tamil Nadu every year from June to January. Karnataka has been maintaining that the CWDT award was impractical and cannot be executed due to lack of water in the Cauvery reservoir. 

“The fact and the truth remains that Karnataka has been affected. We expect some relief to the state. We have asked the court to reduce it from 192 tmc to 100-102 tmc of water. We will see what the Supreme Court decides,” Patil told reporters after the meeting here.

The written submission in this regard will be finalised and placed before the apex court, he said. Sources said that the submission would cover nine key areas, including the plea for allowing it to release less water and the state’s opposition to the formation of a Cauvery Water Management Board. Patil said that the state is hopeful of getting the relief in Supreme Court’s final verdict keeping in view the fact that it has been hit with water shortage for drinking and irrigation purposes.

The apex court, while reserving the verdict, had asked all the parties including Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, to submit their written submissions.