The Cauvery Water Management Authority on Friday directed Karnataka and Tamil Nadu govts to release water to Tamil Nadu and the Union territory of Puducherry respectively for the month of October, as per the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal modified by the Supreme Court.
Karnataka is to release 20.22 tmcft of water for Oct at Biligundlu, the inter-state border.
The Cauvery Water Management Authority held its meeting in Delhi.
“Our demand was that the surplus released by Karnataka during floods not be treated as Tamil Nadu’s realisation. The upper riparian state is obligated to maintain monthly deliveries to protect the standing crop of the delta,” TN water resources secretary K Manivasan told reporters.
Tamil Nadu has already realised 202.96 tmcft in the current water year that began on June 1 while the stipulated quantum for this period was 119.46 tmcft.
Additionally, Tamil Nadu has released 2.63 tmcft to Puducherry, surpassing the required 2.57 tmcft until Sept 27.
It has been Tamil Nadu’s long-standing demand that Karnataka govt not increase cultivable area and draw water in the name of lift irrigation schemes as per the order. Manivasan noted that the govt had been maintaining adequate releases from the Mettur reservoir.