CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department (WRD) officials informed that the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) will urge the Karnataka government to release 24,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu in the meeting that is set to be held today.
Earlier, the 22nd Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) meeting was held in Delhi on August 11. In this meeting, representatives from Tamil Nadu insisted that Karnataka has not opened the Cauvery water, which should have been formally opened to the State, and the authority should issue orders to the Karnataka government to comply with the directions. But, the Karnataka officials objected to it, and no consensus could be reached resulting in Tamil Nadu officials walking out of the meeting.
Meanwhile, the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) recommended that Karnataka release 37.9 TMC ft of water to Tamil Nadu at the rate of 10,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second). However, the Tamil Nadu government filed a case in the Supreme Court (SC) against the Karnataka government's move.
The judges hearing the case on August 25 raised questions about Karnataka's compliance with implementing the orders of the CWMA and ordered the CWMA to submit the details of water availability in Karnataka dams as a report by September 1.
The court had also ordered the CWMA to investigate and decide on the petition filed by the Karnataka government seeking permission to reduce the amount of Cauvery water released to Tamil Nadu and the petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government about the deficit of Cauvery water ordered to be released.