CHENNAI: The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) on Tuesday directed Karnataka to release 3,500 cusecs (4.536 tmcft) of Cauvery water at Biligundlu for a period of 15 days from 8 am on Wednesday to meet Tamil Nadu’s requirements.
The direction was issued at the 139th meeting of the CWRC, held via video conference, under the chairmanship of Vineet Gupta. The representatives of all the Cauvery basin states participated in the meeting. However, official sources said the Karnataka government has decided to challenge the CWRC’s direction before the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).
Tamil Nadu was represented by A Jayakumari, chief engineer, water resources department, Tiruchy Region, who urged the committee to direct Karnataka to release the due share of water as per the Cauvery water-sharing schedule. According to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka had fallen short by 9.46 tmcft of its pro-rata share during the period.
Presenting the state’s case, Jayakumari said TN had received only 3.543 tmcft of water at Biligundlu between June 1 and July 26, 2026, against the quantity due under the monthly release schedule. She told the committee the cumulative deficit during the period had reached 35.391 tmcft.
She also informed the committee that the storage in the Mettur dam stood at 36.272 tmcft as on July 27. It was receiving an inflow of only 42 cusecs, while 1,003 cusecs of water was being released mainly to meet drinking water needs, industrial requirements and environmental flow.
Referring to the India Meteorological Department forecast issued on July 27, TN submitted that rain during the remaining period of the southwest monsoon was expected to be normal. The state argued that based on the storage available in Karnataka’s four major reservoirs between June 1 and July 26 during the 2026-27 irrigation year, Karnataka should have released a higher quantity to TN.
The state requested the committee to direct Karnataka to immediately make good the shortfall and ensure the monthly release is maintained in accordance with the prescribed schedule. The committee also decided to hold its next meeting on August 11.
