Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday charged that Karnataka had not released even a drop of water for Kuruvai season in accordance with the interim order or the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.
“As per the interim award of the Cauvery Tribunal, Karnataka should have released 10.16 tmc ft of water to Tamil Nadu in June. But so far, not even a drop of water has been received. Besides, there was no reply from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to my letter, requesting him to convene a meeting of the Cauvery River Authority to resolve the issue,” the CM said in a statement here.
Jayalalithaa pointed out that since the final verdict of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal had not been notified by the Centre despite her repeated requests, Karnataka had not been releasing water either in accordance with the interim order or the final verdict. Karnataka was releasing water only when the dams in that State were overflowing, she pointed out.
Jayalalithaa said there was no possibility for opening the Mettur dam now considering the meagre storage of 41.11 tmcft in the reservoir.
This year, paddy saplings have been prepared in 2,000 acres for Kuruvai season and through this, paddy could be cultivated in 20,000 acres. Since no water has been released from Karnataka this year, majority of farmers in the Cauvery delta areas are in a fix.
For the first time since Independence, Mettur dam was opened for irrigation on June 6, 2011 after the AIADMK government came to power.
Due to this reason and use of modern techniques, paddy production in Tamil Nadu reached the highest ever 75.
96 lakh metric tonnes in 2011-12, which was 31.15 per cent more than the yield during 2010-11.