Karnataka stares at serious crisis after SC doubles Cauvery water for TN
Bengaluru: In a move that could have far-reaching implications for not just the farming community in the Mandya sugarcane belt but the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the state as well, the Supreme Court on Tuesday, overrode the September 19 order of the Cauvery Supervisory Committee and directed the state government to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery river water in all to Tamil Nadu from September 21 to 27.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said soon after the verdict, “This is an unimplementable order.” The order overturns the CSC directive of 24 hours ago, which had specified only 3,000 cusecs to be released for ten days between September 21 to 27.
The total quantum of water as specified by the CSC order would have seen Karnataka release 30,000 cusecs of water for ten days. Instead, now with the Apex Court order, the water released to Tamil Nadu increases to 42,000 cusecs of water.
Karnataka’s senior counsel Fali S. Nariman had vehemently argued before the bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra and Justice U.U. Lalit that Karnataka is not in a position to release water, and that the present storage of water in all four reservoirs is not enough to meet drinking water needs in summer.
Nariman argued that if the bench passes the order, it would be impossible for the state to comply. Nariman reportedly opposed the view of the court about an interim management, and said “it will be a wrong order...It will be an erroneous order if any pro tem arrangement is made.”
Most significantly, the Apex Court directed the Centre to constitute a Cauvery Water Management Board (CWMB) within four weeks, which has added to Karnataka’s unease as the bench said while passing order that the Cauvery Supervisory Committee — seen here as being more understanding of Karnataka’s plight — is not an expert body to deal with the issue.
Cauvery board: Another blow for state
The Supreme Court's direction to the Union government to set up the Cauvery Water Management Board (CWMB), an entity recommended by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) in its final order in 2007, has added to the woes of the state government with fears that the new body would not only monitor use of excess water but also reduce the farming area in the basin districts.
The CWMB and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) were hanging fire though the Tribunal recommended their constitution for implementation of its final order nine years ago. In 2013, the Supreme Court stepped in and asked the Union government to set up the Cauvery Supervisory Committee, with Secretary, Ministry of water resources as its chairman.
Legal experts said with establishment of the CWMB, the state government would be forced to evolve new strategies to meet the requirements of farmers of Mandya and neighbouring areas who depend on water stored in KRS dam as well as excess water of the Cauvery. Reason: experts would keep a close watch on the use of excess water and the extent of land on which crops such
as paddy and sugarcane are grown.
