The Cauvery water row saw a tense exchange in the Supreme Court on Thursday as Tamil Nadu accused Karnataka of “usurping all the water” amidst an ongoing
dispute over water sharing. Senior advocate CS Vaidyanathan, appearing for Tamil Nadu, made the allegation before a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, which was hearing the state’s plea seeking directions to Karnataka to release its due share of Cauvery water. “We have already lost Purvai crop, a late Kharif crop because of lack of water,” Vaidyanathan told the court. “We are only seeking enforcement of the award which requests proportional release. I just get 50.5%. I am not getting that.” The court sought details of the shortfall. Tamil Nadu said the deficit stood at around 20 TMC, while Karnataka had put the figure at 16 TMC. Vaidyanathan argued that the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) had not taken adequate steps to address the accumulated deficit. He said the monsoon had already receded and that if the shortfall was not made up now, Tamil Nadu’s crops could suffer further. “Karnataka is usurping all the water,” Vaidyanathan said. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for Karnataka, opposed the plea, citing drought conditions in the state. “We have been releasing despite the drought,” Divan said, arguing that the CWMA was an expert body which was monitoring the situation periodically. The bench noted that Karnataka had released around 6,000 cusecs of water. However, the court observed that Tamil Nadu’s grievance was about the accumulated deficit, rather than only the latest release. Divan said the CWMA had considered several factors before deciding the quantum of water to be released. He also pointed out that Karnataka was unlikely to receive much rain after the southwest monsoon, while Tamil Nadu would benefit from the northeast monsoon. Vaidyanathan, however, pressed the court to direct the authorities to address the deficit, arguing that waiting any longer could leave Tamil Nadu without enough water for its crops. The dispute comes after the CWMA upheld a recommendation for Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days. Tamil Nadu subsequently approached the Supreme Court, seeking enforcement of the direction and claiming a shortfall in its prescribed share. The Cauvery dispute has repeatedly brought Karnataka and Tamil Nadu into conflict over the sharing of the river’s waters, particularly during years of deficient rainfall.
