NEW DELHI: Amidst the controversy regarding the sharing of Cauvery water between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments, the Supreme Court on Friday sought a report from the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) with regards to compliance of SCs 2018 order directing the Karnataka government to release 177.25 tmcft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu from its inter-state Biligundlu dam.
"Authorities consist of experts. We don’t possess that expertise. How can we pass an order? We’ll call a report from the authority whether the order is being complied with or not,” Justice BR Gavai the presiding judge of the bench said.
Taking note of the next CWMAs meeting which is scheduled for August 28, 2023, to decide on the release of water by Karnataka for the next fortnight, the bench also comprising Justices PS Narasimha and PK Mishra directed the CWMA to submit the report by September 1, 2023.
The court was considering the TN government’s plea to direct Karnataka to release forthwith 24,000 cusecs of water from its reservoirs to save the standing paddy crops.
Tamil Nadu in its plea said the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) had on August 11, 2023, reduced the water to be released by Karnataka for 15 days (from August 11) from KRS and Kabini reservoirs to be realized at Billigundulu on the interstate border to 10,000 cusecs (0.864 tmcft per day) from 15,000 cusecs. “But even this has not been complied with by the Karnataka government,” Tamil Nadu said.
TN Government appearing through Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi in an attempt to urge the court to pass an order for interim relief told the court that there is a huge deficit. “I want a pro tem order as of today for 15 days. I have a huge deficit,” Rohatgi said.
Karnataka has opposed before the court a plea by Tamil Nadu for the release of 24,000 cusecs per day of Cauvery river water from its reservoirs, contending it faced a distress situation due to the failure of the south-west Monsoon.
Karnataka also said it has asked CWMA to review the decision taken on August 11 for ensuring 10,000 cusecs per day at the inter-state border Biligundlu from August 12 for the next 15 days.
Karnataka government likely to declare over 100 taluks as drought-hit
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government is likely to declare more than 100 taluks as drought-hit in view of a severe shortage of rainfall. Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy told reporters on Friday that a crop survey is being conducted across the state and officials have been instructed to submit a report by August 30. By September, the government is expected to announce a list of drought-hit taluks as per the guidelines of the Centre.
Around 130 taluks are facing a drought-like situation. On whether the government will go for cloud seeding, the minister said the earlier initiatives in this regard have not given positive results. “Crops have been affected in many taluks for want of rain. Under the crop insurance scheme, over 35,000 farmers from 194 gram panchayats in Bagalkot, Gadag, Belagavi and Tumakuru will get a compensation of Rs 35.9 crore,” the minister added.