Having ensured a cumulative flow of water in excess of 32,000 cusecs at Biligundlu measuring station on the inter-state border between September 12 and October 10, Karnataka is hoping that its protracted legal battle with Tamil Nadu over Cauvery water sharing will come to an end soon.
The case is set to come up in the Supreme Court on October 19 when the apex court will examine if the state has complied with the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) order and also hear TN’s plea for more than 9,000 cusecs daily.
Sources said that with the state already falling in line with the CRA order by releasing more than 32,000 cusecs, the legal battle for Cauvery water during this distress year has almost come to an end.
This could give the ruling BJP a much needed breather from opposition criticism that the government did a poor job while handling the courtroom battle.
After the apex court hears the case on October 19, all eyes will be on the CRA, which is yet to convene a meeting to hear the review petitions and pass an order following submissions made by the Central teams and Cauvery Monitoring Committee
(CMC). While, the State has avoided a constitutional crisis by complying with the court order, has it compromised on Karnataka’s interests? While Opposition leaders assert that the State’s `goodwill gesture’ to release 10,000 cusecs proved costly, the government says the gesture was inevitable.
“On September 10, there was a backlog of 23 TMC of water and the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal’s
interim order has stipulated a monthly quota of 30 tmc for September. By offering to release 10,000 cusecs till the CRA meeting, the State not only reduced the backlog but indirectly conformed to the CRA directive to release 9,000 cusecs. The observations made by the Central teams and the Cauvery Monitoring Committee (CMC) have proved favourable to Karnataka,” argued an official. ISSUES BEFORE THE APEX COURT Interim appeal of Tamil Nadu filed on September 24 for enhancement of water flow ordered by the CRA from 9,000 cusecs to 2 tmc per day to clear accumulated shortfall of 48 tmc.
Interim appeal of Karnataka filed on October 4 for modification of the CRA's direction seeking to reduce 9,000 cusecs to a lesser quantity.
Review filed by Karnataka before the CRA on September 20, to which TN filed a counter.