New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to intervene with the combined expertise of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) and the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) directing Karnataka to release 5000 cusecs of water at Biligundlu.
A three-judge Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai said the various factors, including water distress in the Cauvery basin, considered by the CWMA and the CWRC while fixing the daily water flow from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu at 5,000 cusecs were neither “extraneous” nor “irrelevant”.
The court noted that the CWRC and the CWMA had been regularly meeting every 15 days to review the water flow with due regard to the distress faced by both the States.
Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and G. Umapathy, for Tamil Nadu, said the CWRC had initially decided that the State required 7,200 cusecs of the water from Karnataka, but had abruptly, in its final order, reduced the amount to 5,000 cusecs a day. The CWMA had confirmed the CWRC order that Karnataka had to ensure Cauvery water releases from the Krishna Raja Sagara and Kabini reservoirs put together, so that the flows were realised at Biligundulu at the rate of 5,000 cusecs.
On the other hand, senior advocate Shyam Divan, for Karnataka, said the daily flow of 5,000 cusecs of water was “against the interest” of the State. The State, especially in urban areas such as Bengaluru, was on the brink of a drinking water crisis whereas Tamil Nadu was in need of water for only irrigation. Mr. Divan said the distress in Karnataka had increased in the past 15 days.
“The authorities should not have ordered Karnataka to give more than 3,000 cusecs per day,” Mr. Divan submitted.
The Bench, also comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and P.K. Mishra, expressed satisfaction that the CWRC and the CWMA had considered all the factors, especially the drought situation, before fixing the water release at the rate of 5,000 cusecs. (with Agency inputs)
