Cauvery Water Management Authority remains a 'paper tiger', say officials

CHENNAI: Amidst the escalating tension over Cauvery Water between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and its regulatory committee had “failed” to safeguard the rights of the lower riparian states. It remained as a “paper tiger” as it wielded no power to force the upper riparian state to comply with its direction nor guaranteed the due share of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, which received less than 55 per cent of the total stipulated quantity of Cauvery water in a water year.

The authority was constituted as per the provision of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act 1956. Its sole purpose of existence is to implement the Supreme Court’s verdict on February 16, 2018. It should control Cauvery waters, regulate the water releases by Karnataka with the assistance of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) at the inter-state contact point, Biligundlu gauge.

Going by the Apex Court’s verdict, the Karnataka government should release 177.250 tmc in a water year (June 1 to May 31 of following year). However, the upper riparian state belligerently denied the stipulated quantity of water as per the SC order or the distress formula. However, it denied Tamil Nadu a total of 98.832 tmc of water from June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024. In the present water year (June1 to July 16, 2024), Karnataka should have ensured flow of 25.314 TMC at Biligundlu.

However, it released only 8.328 TMC despite the cumulative storage of water in four reservoirs - Hemavathy, Harangi, Kabini and Krishnarajasagara - over 59 TMC.

“The numbers will never lie and it shows the approach of the Karnataka government and the inefficiency of the authorities concerned,” said a source in the TN government and continued that the TN’s repeated pleas for its due share of Cauvery water were never fulfilled.

They were “highly disappointed” over its approach towards the neighbouring state.

It is discharging surplus water to Tamil Nadu and consider the lower riparian states as “let out channel” whenever there was heavy rainfall in the catchment area of Cauvery, said the source pointing out the sudden increase of inflow of Cauvery water from 5,0054 cusecs at 8 am on Tuesday to 16,577 cusecs of water at 4 pm. It was against Karnataka’s decision to release only 8,000 cusecs against CWRCs recommendation.

“This is due to surplus water released from Kabini reservoir two days ago,” said another official.

“The periodical meeting of CWMA and CWRC had failed to impress and earn our trust,” said an official in WRD.