Cauvery Dispute : DMK Moves Supreme Court Seeking Directions To Karnataka For Urgent Water Release

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has moved the Supreme Court seeking urgent release of Cauvery River water by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu in compliance with the recent directions of the Cauvery Water Management Authority.

The CWMA recently upheld the direction of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee for Karnataka to release 3500 cusecs per day to Tamil Nadu, for 15 days, at the inter-state border at Biligundlu.

DMK is represented by Thiru AKS Vijayan, who is stated to own agricultural lands in the Cauvery Delta and is therefore directly affected by the non-release of the Cauvery water.

To recap, the Cauvery water dispute is a long standing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It began in 1974 when Karnataka, the upper riparian State, started diverting water without Tamil Nadu's consent.

The tussle reached Supreme Court after the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal in 2007 finalized the water sharing formula. The award had come on February 5, 2007, and was gazetted by the Central government on February 19, 2013. Besides deciding on the sharing of water, the tribunal had recommended setting up a Cauvery Water Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee.

In 2018, a 3-judge bench of the Supreme Court directed Karnataka to release 177.25 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu, instead of 192 TMC, at the inter-state border at Biligundlu.

The fresh application filed by DMK claims that as per the final order of the Tribunal, as modified by the Supreme Court in 2018, the monthly stipulated flows to be ensured by Karnataka at Biligundlu during June to January every year are as follows: June to September - 123.14 TMC, October to January - 44.11 TMC, June to January - 167.25 TMC. 

The application states that about 14.913 lakh acres (net area), 4 million farmers and 10 million agricultural laborers depend on the Mettur reservoir water, which in turn depends on the water released by Karnataka at Biligundlu.

"The farmers of the lower riparian districts of Tamil Nadu, viz., Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruchirappalli and other delta districts, are the worst affected by the non-release of water. The Kuruvai crop already raised is withering for want of water, and unless the directed releases are immediately effected and the backlog made good, the standing crops will be irretrievably lost, causing enormous damage and wastage and gravely affecting the livelihood of farmers", DMK avers.

The application further highlights that in the current water year, the South-West Monsoon has been deficient in the Cauvery basin. It is alleged that the flows realized at Biligundlu have been dismally low - only about 10% of what is stipulated for the period. According to the applicant's estimate (accounting for distress-sharing basis), the backlog due to Tamil Nadu at Biligundlu stood at 9.46 TMC on July 26 (to fulfill which requirement about 7000 cusecs per day must be released for 15 days).

The DMK also claims in its application that in a recent meeting of the CWRC, Karnataka opposed Tamil Nadu's demand for release of water, citing acute distress, shortfall in inflow, etc. After considering all aspects, the Committee directed the State to release 3500 cusecs per day at Biligundlu for 15 days (amounting to 4.5 TMC) from July 29 (8 AM).

Karnataka assailed the decision before the CWMA, seeking deferment of the direction for a fortnight. However, the CWMA, considering inter-alia the improve in inflows, upheld the impugned direction and recorded that the CWRC's direction would not jeopardize Karnataka's requirement for drinking water.

DMK submits that despite the decisions of the statutory authorities, Karnataka has not released the water. On the contrary, the state representatives have been reported as saying that the state will not release the water. The application underlines the significance of the current period by highlighting that out of the annual quantum of 167.25 TMC, nearly 3/4th is required to be realized at Biligundlu between June-September, as this is the time when the Kuruvai paddy crop is raised and operations for the Samba crop are undertaken.

"Water which is not realized during this period cannot be compensated by releases at any later point of time, for by then the season itself would stand irretrievably lost", DMK states, adding that the Delta faces a real and imminent danger of being reduced to a desert.

The application has been drawn by Advocates Richardson Wilson and Lokesh Krishna, settled by Senior Advocate P Wilson and filed through AOR Anuradha Arputham.

Case Title: State Of Karnataka v. State Of Tamil Nadu , Misc. Appln. in C.A. No. 2453/2007