Cauvery Water Regulation Committee rejects State’s request to delay decision until July end

New Delhi: The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) on Thursday directed the Karnataka Government to release one thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of water per day to Tamil Nadu at the inter-State point of Biligundulu until the end of July.

This decision was made due to the precarious water level in the Mettur Reservoir and the rising water dues from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu. The panel rejected Karnataka’s request to delay the decision until the end of July.

In the current water year 2024-25, the backlog of water flow is around 14 tmcft against the total stipulated water flows of around 18 tmcft. Karnataka has released only around 4 tmcft so far, citing inadequate reservoir inflows due to a poor monsoon.

Due to a deficient monsoon in June, Karnataka was only able to release around 1.7 tmcft in June against the stipulated 9.19 tmcft. Furthermore, between July 1 and July 9, Karnataka released around 2.24 tmcft against the 9 tmcft target for the period.

In July, Karnataka must ensure the cumulative realisation of 31.24 tmcft, which is about 1 tmcft per day at the inter-State point, as per the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) as modified by the Supreme Court.

“We have directed the Karnataka Government to ensure the release of at least 1 tmcft per day of water flows at Biligundlu to reduce the backlog,” said Vineet Gupta, Chairman of the CWRC, after the 99th meeting of the committee held in New Delhi on Thursday.

“We found that the water level in the Mettur reservoir is at just 16 percent of its storage capacity, whereas in Karnataka, the reservoir level is 58 percent full. Hence, Karnataka can easily manage outflows to Mettur; otherwise, the backlog will keep increasing,” Gupta added.

The current deficit of water flows can be managed if Karnataka releases around 1.7 tmcft of water daily. In the past two weeks, the committee observed that Karnataka has received good inflows into its major reservoirs, ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 tmcft per day. As of July 9, the inflows in four major Karnataka reservoirs were normal compared to the 30-year average storage level.

“It is feasible for Karnataka to ensure outflows of 1 tmcft per day at the inter-State point. Intermediate catchments can also contribute to this. Additionally, the Kabini Reservoir is nearly full, so whatever inflow it receives can be released as outflows. Furthermore, according to the IMD, the monsoon will regain strength after July 16,” Gupta stated.