Whose Cauvery Is It Anyway? Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Once Again Fighting to Have Their Way of Water

The Cauvery river water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka is bubbling once again with both states calling for an all-party meeting to discuss the long-standing issue.

The dispute revolves around the volume of water Karnataka is obligated to release to Tamil Nadu. On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered Karnataka to release 10,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu daily for the next 15 days.

The all-party meeting in Karnataka, scheduled for August 23, is expected to be a charged one. Discussions on Cauvery water sharing and the way forward will be on the agenda, along with the concerns of the farmers in the state. Political parties in Tamil Nadu have urged Chief Minister MK Stalin to convene an all-party meeting immediately to discuss the water-sharing issue.

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Karnataka is facing a dilemma as its reservoirs are at a mere 17% of their capacity.

The state is also seeking a delay to await the arrival of monsoon rains, which are expected to contribute to raising the water levels in its reservoirs. With major reservoirs in the Cauvery basin hitting rock bottom and the monsoon delayed, Karnataka said it will abide by the SC order in the meantime but will also seek time to wait for the rains to build up water levels in the reservoirs.

In its application to the Supreme Court, Tamil Nadu said that the state has been facing severe water shortage and requested the court to direct Karnataka to release 36.76 TMC stipulated for September 2023 as per the CWDT’s judgment.

Tamil Nadu claimed that it is essential for Karnataka to release more water or their farmers’ lives will be at risk.

A senior government source told News18 that Karnataka is heading towards a drought-like situation and the sub-committee meeting on Tuesday will discuss the situation and how severe the water shortage is.

“The Cauvery Basin does not have enough water for both states. Just like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka is also sailing in the same boat as the rainfall has been deficient,” the official said.

Karnataka will appeal in the Supreme Court on the order passed by it.

GRIM SITUATION IN K’TAKA RESERVOIRS

The Cauvery Basin that received copious rains over the last five years has slipped into a grim situation with the combined storage of Kabini, Harangi, Hemavathi, and KRS reservoirs at just 30.5 tmcft against a capacity of 114 tmcft.

According to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, the storage is 148.22 tmcft as of July 1. The gross storage capacity is 865.20 tmcft.

If the Cauvery Basin does not receive normal rain in the next couple of weeks, drinking water supplies to Bengaluru, Mysuru, and districts along the Cauvery Basin will face a shortage. According to meteorologists, Kodagu, which falls in the Cauvery catchment area, has received less than 50% rain compared to last year and has seen a 75% deficit compared to 2021.

LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also the state’s water resources minister, maintained that the government would honour court verdicts, both past and present. He also emphasised that Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are “neighbours” and at no point in time would they want to fight with each other over the Cauvery issue.

He, however, said Tamil Nadu should not have hurriedly appealed in the Supreme Court to reconsider the decision owing to water scarcity in the state.

“It’s the duty of the government to help farmers on both sides of the border. I request Tamil Nadu to work with us. We don’t want their farmers in distress, you (TN) too don’t put our farmers in distress,” he said, speaking to reporters.

LONG FIGHT FOR WATER

The Cauvery water dispute is a complex one, and there is no easy solution. The two states will have to find a way to balance the needs of their farmers and the impact on water sharing based on rains, which this year has been in the deficit, explained another senior minister.

In 2018, the Supreme Court modified the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) award of 2007 and, according to the verdict, Karnataka is supposed to make available a total quantity of 177.25 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) to Tamil Nadu in a ‘normal’ water year (from June to May).

Given the deficit rainfall, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has also written to the Centre to review the current parameters for a state to declare a drought and consider its amendment. Karnataka has said that the current definition is too rigid and does not take into account the unique challenges faced by different regions.

Making a case for Karnataka’s severe water shortage, the CM highlighted the fact that the state has recorded 234 mm of rainfall as against the normal downpour of 336 mm, with a minus-34% deficiency. He said this was also in the backdrop of the delayed arrival of monsoon and a deficit of minues-56% in June.

“The manual rigidly defines dry spells, assuming its impact on agriculture would be similar everywhere and in all time scales. Factors like the type of soil, type of crop, temperatures, and vegetative state equally matter due to which even a dry spell of two weeks can lead to irreversible crop damage,” said his letter addressed to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

WATER POLITICKING

The JDS and BJP have attempted to corner the ruling Congress on the sensitive issue.

Former CM Basavaraj Bommai, who also held the portfolio of water resources during the BJP rule, said the Congress has been dragging its feet. He highlighted that Karnataka, compelled to release water to Tamil Nadu, is doing so meekly without raising a robust voice.

“It is unprecedented and uncalled for. I don’t understand the reasoning behind the actions of Deputy Chief Minister and Water Resources Minister Shivakumar. They should build a watertight case in the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA). Tamil Nadu was supposed to use 32 TMC, but they used more than 60 TMC for the Kuruvai crop. They were expected to irrigate 1.8 lakh hectares, but they have irrigated more than 4 lakh hectares. This is evident to all. Now they have shifted their focus to Karnataka’s water, but the Congress must either present a strong case with the CWMA or release water to the farmers at the right time,” he said.

Former Chief Minister and JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy described the decision to convene an all-party meeting as a desperate attempt to address a situation that has spun out of control. He criticised the Congress, a former ally, for its pre-election campaign ‘Our Water, Our Right’. The slogan, he said, seems to have changed to ‘Our Water, Tamil Nadu’s Right’.

“It’s akin to locking the stable after the horses have bolted. What’s the use? The water level in the KRS dam has dropped from 112 feet to 107 feet. What purpose does it serve to hold an all-party meeting at this juncture? Does the state government have a plan in place in case the rains fail?” Kumaraswamy added.

Reacting to the statement, Shivakumar acknowledged that his ‘friends’ in the BJP and JD(S) were attempting to politicise the Cauvery issue, but they appear to have conveniently forgotten what occurred during their tenures when they were in power.

According to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre, the state has seen a deficit in rainfall from January to August. The normal rainfall expected during this period is 763 cm, but the actual rainfall that the state received till date is 595 cm. The pre-monsoon showers north usually amount to 129 mm from January to May. However, this year it received 116.4 cm. The south west monsoon is estimated at 839 cm between June to September, but has yielded only 479 cm.