NEW DELHI:
The Supreme Court today delivered its verdict on the decades-old Cauvery water dispute ruling that Karnataka will get to keep an additional 14.75 TMC of water from the Cauvery river.
This is over and above the Tribunal award of 270 TMC. Tamil Nadu’s water share has now been reduced to 177 TMC from 192 TMC. There is no change of water allocation for Kerala and Puducherry. The verdict was delivered by a three-Judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and justices Amitava Roy and A M Khanwilkar.
Earlier, in accordance with the 2007 award of the Cauvery water dispute tribunal, Karnataka had a share of 270 tmcft of Cauvery water. This will now increase to 284.75 tmcft.
The apex court also allowed Tami Nadu to draw an additional 10 tmcft ‘groundwater’ from a total of 20 tmcft beneath the Cauvery basin.
It said the increase in share of Cauvery water for Karnataka by 14.75 tmcft is because of the 10 tmcft groundwater and 4.75 tmcft drinking water requirement for Bengaluru residents. The apex court said drinking water has to be kept on the highest pedestal. It said its order on Cauvery water allocation will continue for the next 15 years.
Observers say that even if there is a reduction in Tamil Nadu’s share, there may be long-term benefit for the state in the verdict. This, they claim, is because Karnataka is now obligated to release a monthly share (up to 177.25 TMC) from July, thereby addressing one of Tamil Nadu’s key complaints — that it never used to get the water on time.
In Karnataka, observers say increased allocation will give the state room to increase storage in tanks in the basin and use it for expansion of irrigation. This has been a major grouse of the state — that its farmers in the basin are restricted by curbs on water usage. Cauvery is also the main source of drinking water for several cities in the basin and its periphery, like Bengaluru.
What was the dispute?
Historically, Tamil Nadu used about 602 TMC of the total yield of the Cauvery river. As a result, only about 138 TMC was available for Karnataka until the turn of the 20th century. In 1924, Tamil Nadu built the Mettur dam, and the two states signed an agreement effective for 50 years. The pact allowed Tamil Nadu to expand its agricultural area by 11 lakh acres from the existing 16 lakh acres. Karnataka was authorised to increase its irrigation area from 3 lakh acres to 10 lakh acres.
In 1974, when the accord lapsed, Karnataka claimed that the agreement restricted its ability to develop farming activities along the Cauvery basin. To make up lost ground, it started building reservoirs. This led to a dispute between the two states.
