CHENNAI : The first meeting of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) scheduled to be held on July 2 has a wide range of business on its agenda, which includes release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu from Karnataka as per the schedule, drawing up a plan of action for three ten-day periods, beginning July 2018, duly complying with all aspects of the judgement of the Supreme Court in this regard.
The information regarding the first meeting was formally informed to the Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday. The meeting will be held at Central Water Commission (CWC) office in Delhi and will be chaired by the CWC Chairman, S Masood Hussain, who is also heading the Cauvery Authority. Official sources said Karnataka had only let out surplus water from its dams to Tamil Nadu and this cannot be taken as release of water as per the monthly schedules laid in the final award of the Cauvery Tribunal. So, the members of CWMA from Tamil Nadu are likely to reiterate this point during the first meeting and demand immediate release of water as Karnataka dams have sufficient storage.
The Authority will discuss the information on total residual storage in Banasura Sagar (Kerala); Hemavathi, Harangi, Kabini, and Krishnarajasagara (Karnataka); Lower Bhavani, Amaravathy and Mettur (Tamil Nadu), as on June 1. Format for maintaining data of inflow, outflow, withdrawal, storage, rainfall, cropped area and domestic and industrial requirement to be maintained by the CWRC, requirement of data regarding actual yield in the basin from June 1 to June 30, data regarding withdrawals / release of water in the basin during the above period and bringing out indications of distress, if any, in the basin are on agenda During the meeting, a plan of action for three ten-day periods, beginning July 2018 is likely to be submitted to CWMA.
Besides, strategy for setting up communication network for hydrological conditions would be discussed. In this connection, the Authority may request CWC to submit proposal for setting up communication network. Drafting rules for business, deliberating on the broad principles on which the organisation structure of the Authority should be based, and strategy for key issues like posting of officials to the Authority, service rules for the staff, finalisation of authority’s representatives at the eight reservoirs in the Cauvery Basin are among the key agenda points.