Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah Rejects Cauvery Water Release to Tamil Nadu
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has communicated his inability to comply with the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s (CWMA) directive, which instructed Karnataka to release 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for two weeks. Siddaramaiah reportedly sent a letter to Union Minister for Water Resources Gajendra Singh Shekawat, outlining the current situation in Karnataka due to insufficient rainfall this season.
In his letter, the Chief Minister requested the Union Minister to reconsider the CWMA’s decision, taking into account Karnataka’s water needs. He highlighted that the Mettur reservoir in Tamil Nadu currently holds 24.233 tmc feet of water, which is sufficient to meet the state’s water requirements.
Siddaramaiah also informed the Union Minister that Karnataka faces a grim outlook for rainfall until September 24 due to a weak monsoon. The state requires approximately 70 tmc feet of water to safeguard its crops, 33 tmc for drinking water purposes, and an additional 3 tmc feet for industrial use. However, Karnataka’s reservoirs in the Cauvery basin only have 53 tmc feet of water available.
The Chief Minister firmly stated to reporters in Bengaluru that Karnataka would not release water to Tamil Nadu at this juncture, especially when the Cauvery basin districts of Karnataka are grappling with drought conditions. He emphasized that Karnataka had previously adhered to CWMA’s directives and released water to Tamil Nadu. Nevertheless, the weak monsoon this season has resulted in drought conditions in many taluks within the Old Mysuru region, falling under the Cauvery basin.
In his letter to the Union Minister, Siddaramaiah also pointed out that Tamil Nadu had utilized 100 tmc feet of water over 92 days from June to September this year. This amount surpasses the water usage by Tamil Nadu during drought-affected years such as 1987-88, 2002-03, 2012-13, 2016-17, and 2017-18, despite Karnataka having lower water storage in its Cauvery basin reservoirs.
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