CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has been receiving less than 50% of its due share of Cauvery water, despite the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) directing Karnataka to release 4,000 cusecs daily for 15 days from September 25. Consequently, several water bodies in the delta districts remain dry.
The Mettur dam’s water storage stood at 32.830 tmcft, which is 35.12% of the full reservoir capacity of 93.47 tmcft while the inflow was 1,043 cusecs at 4 pm on Tuesday.
As per Water Resources Department (WRD) data accessed by TNIE, the inflow into the Mettur reservoir stood at 4,116 cusecs on September 25. Thereafter, the inflow remained below 2,750 cusecs on most days, except on October 1, when it rose to 3,440 cusecs.
A senior WRD official told TNIE that the Karnataka government had recently appealed to the CWMA to reduce the prescribed release from 4,000 cusecs to 2,000 cusecs a day, citing low storage levels in its four reservoirs.
“However, Karnataka has to release Tamil Nadu’s due share even during drought conditions, as per the rules,” the official said. The official stated that TN had repeatedly explained the situation to the CWMA, but the authority had not considered the state’s concerns.
The Tamil Nadu government had also been pursuing legal options to ensure the release of its due share, the official added. TN would present its arguments firmly before the authority at its upcoming meeting, the official further said.
TN has received only 36% of its due share of Cauvery water from Karnataka between June 1 and October 4 in the present water year despite the Supreme Court order stipulating the release of 125.7490 tmcft during the period. The state received only 45.5011 tmcft, leaving a deficit of 80.2479 tmcft.