CHENNAI/NEW DELHI: The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) on Monday directed Karnataka to release 2,600 cusecs water per day for 23 days from November 1 to Tamil Nadu amid opposition from Karnataka officials. The committee also directed that Tamil Nadu release 165 cusecs to Karaikal from November 1 to 23. The next meeting of the committee will be held on November 21.
CWRC Chairman Vineet Gupta told TNIE that Tamil Nadu demanded that the backlog of water to the tune of 11 tmcft should also be made good soon to save the standing crops in delta districts. Tamil Nadu officials also contended that the northeast monsoon so far has been below normal. However, Karnataka said it is not in a position to release due to various reasons.
“The decision was made after analysing meteorological conditions of Cauvery basins and forecast of the next 15 days, storage positions, inflows and outflows of eight designated reservoirs, sown areas covered in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and keeping the requirement of drinking water for cities in Karnataka,” said Gupta. However, the CWRC has not directed Karnataka to release backlog water which Tamil Nadu stated as rightful share as per the Supreme Court judgment.
Official sources said the Tamil Nadu team said 2,600 cusecs for 23 days is insufficient allocation and to save the standing crops in delta districts, at least 13,000 cusecs per day for 15 days should be released.
The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) will take a final decision on the orders of the CWRC soon.
Sources also said that during the meeting, Tamil Nadu officials conveyed the present storage levels in Mettur, Bhavanisagar, and Amaravathi dams and inflow and outflow details to the committee. From June 1 to October 26, Karnataka should have released 140.099 tmcft of water. However, it has released only 56.394 tmcft and 83.705 tmcft of water is due.
The officials further said that as of now, the Mettur dam has only 18 tmcft water and hence, sufficient water for irrigation could not be released. Due to a shortage of water, the standing crops started withering. The TN team said considering the present storage levels of dams in Karnataka Cauvery basin, at least 13,000 cusecs should be released for 15 days. Significantly, the member from the Indian Meteorological Department said Tamil Nadu has received only below-normal rainfall during the current northeast monsoon (October 16 to 27).
Karnataka said the current storage in reservoirs as of October 30 is 48.927 tmcft. The requirement for drinking and industrial use up to July 2024 is 31.10 tmc. The balance available is 17.827 tmcft which is insufficient to meet irrigation needs of existing crops.
Due to deficit monsoon, the Cauvery basin received less rain. According to IMD, there was a deficit of 8% rainfall in the southern Peninsula during the southwest monsoon, which resulted in water scarcity. However, Karnataka officials contended that the state cannot release more water since the inflow into reservoirs is nil and the present storage would be required for irrigation and drinking water purposes.
Meanwhile, an official release here said during the meeting, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry have already submitted the data for preparation of monthly/seasonal and annual water accounts for 2022-23 to the committee while Karnataka is yet to submit this data. Hence the committee has directed Karnataka to submit this report by November 7.