India News

SC reduces Cauvery water allocation to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka to get more because Bengaluru needs it

Published

9 years ago

February 16, 2018

SC reduces Cauvery water allocation to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka to get more because Bengaluru needs it

Court says agreements were not “political arrangements” but were based on public interest; decision valid for 15 years

The Supreme Court on Friday (February 16) ended the long-pending Cauvery river water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu by clearly demarcating the allocation of Cauvery water among Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.

The bench comprising of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Amitava Roy, A M Khanwilkar reduced the allocation of water for Tamil Nadu by 14.75 trillion cusecs (tmcft). Tamil Nadu will now get 404.25 tmcft of Cauvery water instead of 419 tmcft allotted by 207 tribunal.

Karnataka will get an enhanced 14.75 tmcft of water which will now stand at 284.75 tmcft (including 4.75 tmcft for Bengaluru) as against the 2007 Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal award of 270 tmcft. The court’s logic on this was that the state needs more for its industrial use and for the use of the cosmopolitan city of Bengaluru.

However, the bench kept allocation of waters to Kerala i.e. 30 tmcft and to Puducherry i.e. 7 tmcft unchanged as per the 2007 tribunal award.

The bench directed that Karnataka will release 177.25 tmcft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu from its inter-state Biligundlu dam while justifying its decision for increased water allocation to Karnataka on account of drinking water requirement and groundwater for Bengaluru residents. The order on Cauvery water allocation will continue for next 15 years, the bench said.

The bench also allowed Tamil Nadu to draw an additional 10 tmcft of groundwater, from a total of 20 tmcft beneath the Cauvery basin.

Upholding the validity of 1892 and 1924 agreements on Cauvery river water allocation, the bench noted that these agreements were not “political arrangements” but were based on public interest. The bench observed: “The 1924 post-Mettur dam agreement expired in 1974. Now the principle of water allocation is based on “equitable apportionment” and not primacy.”

Adjudging inter-state rivers are national assets, the bench stated: “The Constitution gave equal status to all States. No one riparian State can claim full rights over it.”

During the hearing, the bench rejected the Centre’s argument that it was Parliament’s prerogative to finalise the water sharing scheme.

Welcoming the verdict, the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said: “This is good news for farmers in Cauvery basin and people of Karnataka.” Tamil Nadu’s AIADMK was careful in commenting on the decrease of allocation and said that it had to study the court’s order deeply before commenting.

Backgrounder

The dispute dates back to 1892 when an agreement was filed between the Madras Presidency and Mysore for arbitration but led to a fresh set of disputes. Later, attempts were renewed to arbitrate between the two states under the supervision of the Government of India and a second agreement was signed in 1924.
As Kerala and Puducherry also laid claim to a share of the Cauvery water after Independence, a Fact Finding Committee was set up in 1970 to resolve the situation on the ground. The committee submitted its report in 1972 and further studies were conducted by an expert committee. The states reached an agreement in 1976. However, after a new government came to power in Tamil Nadu, it refused to give its consent to the terms of the agreement.
Later, in 1986, the Tamil Nadu government appealed to the central government to constitute a tribunal for solving the issue under the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956. However, the tribunal was not set up until the Supreme Court took cognizance of the matter and ordered the central government to do so in 1990.
The Cauvery Waters Tribunal was constituted on June 2, 1990. After 16 years of hearing and an interim order, the Tribunal announced its final order in 2007, allocating 419 tmc ft of water to Tamil Nadu and 270 tmc ft to Karnataka. Kerala was given 30 tmc ft and Puducherry got 7 tmc ft. The Tribunal had come to a conclusion that the total availability of water in the Cauvery basin stood at 740 tmc ft. However, both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka filed a review petition before the Tribunal.
In 2012, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as chairman of the Cauvery River Authority, directed the Karnataka government to release 9,000 cusecs of water daily. The Supreme Court slammed the state government as it failed to comply with the order. The government offered an unconditional apology and started the release of water, leading to widespread violent protests.
With the Karnataka government continuously failing to release the water to Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa filed an interlocutory petition in the Supreme Court in August 2016, seeking release of water as per the guidelines of the Tribunal. Announcing its verdict in the case, the Supreme Court, on September 5, directed the Karnataka government to release 15,000 cusecs of water to its neighboring state for 10 days.
The Supreme Court modified its order and asked Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water every day until September 20, 2016.
On September 20, 2017 while reserving its order Cauvery river water-sharing dispute directed Centre to frame a scheme for the implementation of its orders on river water-sharing between these states and Puducherry after the judgement is pronounced.

Related Topics:cauvery KARNATAKA Kerala puducherry Supreme Court Tamil Nadu

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Reference to 1990 firing on kar sevaks

Yogi’s remarks referred to the 1990 police firing on kar sevaks during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. At the time, the Uttar Pradesh government was headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav’s father.

The chief minister said those who had once “bloodied” Ayodhya were now remembering the city. He also criticised political leaders over their conduct at religious gatherings, referring to the decorum of a katha.

Akhilesh has not yet visited the Ram Temple

Akhilesh Yadav has visited Ayodhya earlier but has not so far visited the Ram Temple. The SP leader was in the city on October 8 to attend a Bhagwat Katha organised by party leader Pawan Pandey.

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The planned visit comes amid political activity in Ayodhya ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections due by February 2027.

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He said those who had previously neglected Ayodhya were now witnessing its development. He also said Lord Ram represented India’s national consciousness, culture, values and self-respect.

The chief minister further recalled the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and said Ayodhya had regained the glory for which kar sevaks and saints had struggled.

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Ahead of Diwali, Yogi govt hikes DA by 5% for UP government staff

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The enhanced DA will be paid along with employees’ regular November 2026 salaries.

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The decision covers regular state government employees and several other categories of eligible staff.

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The revision is expected to benefit a large section of the Uttar Pradesh workforce ahead of the festive season.

What happens to the DA arrears?

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The government has made provisions for the payment of the arrears for July to October 2026. These amounts will be credited to employees’ provident fund accounts, according to the reported payment arrangements.

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The development comes ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on November 30 of the bail petitions filed by Shyamkanu Mahanta and Siddhartha Sharma, the two prime accused in the case.

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Sarma said he had instructed the state government’s legal department to bring the matter to the notice of both the Supreme Court and Gauhati High Court.

The Chief Minister objected to the group threatening to target his residence rather than holding a protest near the Chief Minister’s Office.

He said those questioning the judicial process should approach the Supreme Court or the high court instead of targeting him. Sarma also maintained that the courts should be allowed to carry out their work.

According to him, attempts to question the judicial process in this manner could obstruct the path of justice.

What the group said about the bail pleas

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