CHENNAI: The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) on Thursday directed Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily at Biligundulu for 15 days from Friday (October 9), upholding the recommendation of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC).
The decision was taken at the 59th CWMA meeting in New Delhi. Tamil Nadu was represented by Water Resources Department Secretary Prashant M Vadnere and Cauvery Technical Cell chairman R Subramanian, while officials from Karnataka also participated.
According to WRD data accessed by TNIE, Karnataka is required to release 127.0535 tmcft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu during the current water year, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s final order. However, Tamil Nadu had received only 45.8508 tmcft as of Wednesday (October 7), leaving a deficit of 81.2027 tmcft.
WRD sources said Tamil Nadu had received only 3.6 tmcft of its due share by the end of July. Following sustained efforts by the state, the cumulative inflow into Tamil Nadu increased to 46 tmcft as of Wednesday during the current water year.
At the meeting, TN representatives sought the release of the state’s due share on a pro-rata basis. They demanded 20 tmcft between October 9 and 23, comprising 15 tmcft pending from Karnataka and an additional five tmcft. The demand works out to around 1.3 tmcft a day.
A WRD official said Karnataka had not fully complied with previous CWMA directions. “Though the authority had directed Karnataka to release 4,000 cusecs earlier, TN regularly received less than 60% of the stipulated quantity. Now, Karnataka has been directed to release 3,000 cusecs a day. We are not sure whether the Karnataka government will comply with the order,” the official said.
