Supreme Court Orders Karnataka to Release Cauvery Water

The Supreme Court of India directed the Karnataka government on August 17 to comply with orders from the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to release water to Tamil Nadu. The ruling follows a petition by the Tamil Nadu government, led by Joseph Vijay, which alleged that Karnataka failed to release its allocated share despite reservoirs maintaining 76 percent live storage.

The dispute centers on a Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) order requiring Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water daily for 15 days starting August 12, a mandate later upheld by the CWMA. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing Karnataka, argued that the state is experiencing an extremely severe distress year with a significant deficit in the Cauvery basin.

Divan acknowledged that maintaining the 12,000 cusecs target is difficult but stated that instructions were issued to ensure compliance and that initial low flows would be compensated. The court has scheduled a follow-up hearing for August 24 to review the status of the water release.