CHENNAI: The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) on Thursday upheld the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s (CWRC) direction to Karnataka to release 4,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu for the next 15 days.
The decision was taken at the 58th meeting of the CWMA held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of S K Haldar. Tamil Nadu was represented by Water Resources Department Secretary Prashant Murhadapant Wadnere and A Jayakumari, Chief Engineer, Trichy. Officials from Karnataka also participated in the meeting.
Karnataka officials strongly opposed the release, citing inadequate storage in its reservoirs and the state’s own water requirements for both drinking and irrigation purposes.
However, Tamil Nadu officials pointed out that the state had received only 42.209 tmcft of water at Biligundlu, against its pro-rata share of 57.190 tmcft, resulting in a shortfall of 14.981 tmcft.
The Tamil Nadu officials also highlighted the state’s irrigation requirements and the prevailing reservoir position.
According to Water Resources Department data accessed by TNIE, the inflow into the Mettur reservoir stood at 4,960 cusecs on Thursday while the outflow was maintained at 12,020 cusecs for irrigation. The CWMA’s decision comes amid continued differences between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the sharing of Cauvery water.