Cauvery water sharing: SC defers Tamil Nadu plea to Aug 31

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned to August 31 the hearing on Tamil Nadu’s plea seeking implementation of the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s (CWMA) direction on water release from Karnataka.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta asked Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to appear with updated data on water inflow, reservoir storage, consumption and releases after the upcoming CWMA and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) meetings.

Senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan, appearing for Tamil Nadu, argued that the state was not receiving its required share of Cauvery water. He sought the court’s examination of the CWMA’s powers and responsibilities in determining water availability, usage and releases.

The bench referred to an earlier chart submitted by Karnataka and observed that it showed water had already been released in accordance with the CWMA’s directions.

Vaidyanathan, however, claimed there was a shortfall in previous releases and argued that Karnataka should make up the deficit. He also told the court that Karnataka had around 78 TMC of water stored in its reservoirs.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for Karnataka, said the CWMA meeting was scheduled for Tuesday and the state was assessing the situation. He maintained that, based on Karnataka’s current assessment, there was no immediate issue.

The Supreme Court directed both states to return with fresh and comprehensive figures after the CWMA meeting so that the latest water position could be assessed.

The hearing has been posted for August 31. Meanwhile, Karnataka remains bound by the earlier direction concerning the release of 12,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day, pending further orders.