MADURAI: Tamil Nadu will move the Supreme Court on Monday against Karnataka for failing to comply with the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) directions to release water to the state, Minister for Law C T R Nirmal Kumar said on Saturday.
Addressing media persons in Madurai, the minister said Karnataka had ignored the direction to release 3,500 cusecs of water from July 29. He said the state would seek the release of the directed quantum, equivalent to about 4.5 tmcft, besides an additional 17 tmcft that, according to Tamil Nadu’s flow calculations, remained due over the past three months.
Stating that the chief minister had approved legal action, Nirmal Kumar said the government would pursue the case until a permanent solution to the recurring Cauvery dispute is achieved.
He alleged that Karnataka had repeatedly released water only after court intervention and stressed that Tamil Nadu would seek strict enforcement of the directions of Cauvery authorities.
Rejecting the Opposition’s demand for an all-party meeting, the minister said the Assembly had already adopted a unanimous resolution on the issue. He accused the AIADMK and the BJP of taking contradictory positions after supporting the resolution.
Responding to questions on electricity billing, the minister said a revalidation of 15,000 power connections found mismatches in only around 100 cases, largely due to estimated readings at locked premises. He also said nearly 73,000 agricultural electricity connection applications were pending and the government would announce fresh allocations in the state Budget after reviewing available resources.
