Cauvery water management body upholds order for Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs to Tamil Nadu

NEW DELHI: The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) on Tuesday upheld the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee's (CWRC) recommendation directing Karnataka to ensure a flow of 9,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.

The decision was taken at the 56th meeting of the CWMA held in Delhi under the chairmanship of S K Haldar. Officials from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala participated in the meeting.

Prashant M Wadnere, Secretary, Water Resources Department, Tamil Nadu, along with Thiru Subramanian, Chairman of the Cauvery Technical Cell, attended the meeting.

The meeting was held following the Supreme Court's direction to the Tamil Nadu government on Monday to raise before the CWMA its grievance over the release of its proportionate share of Cauvery water by Karnataka.

"According to the CWRC, 11.6 TMC of water has to be released over 15 days. We requested them to reduce it to 6,000 cusecs.

"Tamil Nadu argued for increasing the release to 28 TMC. After all discussions in the meeting, the CWMA reiterated the recommendation of the CWRC," Karnataka officer Gaurav Gupta said.

At its 141st meeting on Monday, the CWRC had directed Karnataka to release water from its reservoirs and ensure a flow of 9,000 cusecs at the Biligundulu border point. The flow has to be maintained continuously for 15 days, during which Tamil Nadu is expected to receive approximately 11.66 TMC of water.

The release is expected to benefit Kuruvai cultivation and meet Tamil Nadu's drinking water requirements.

Earlier, the CWRC had directed Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days from August 12. The CWMA had subsequently upheld that decision.