The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to constitute a bench to hear Tamil Nadu’s plea seeking direction to Karnataka to “forthwith” release Cauvery River water to realise 24,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water at Billigundulu for the period commencing from August 14, 20233 to August 31, 2023, to meet the urgent irrigation requirement of its standing crop.

Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud heading a bench also comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra agreed to constitute a bench by evening on a mentioning by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi for an urgent listing of Tamil Nadu plea seeking to make good of the defect in the release of water and non-compliance of Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) by Karnataka.

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“This is an urgent plea for the release of Cauvery water for August as per the Cauvery Water Management Authority order. The court has to constitute a bench,” Rohatgi said while urging the bench to list it at the earliest for hearing.

CJI Chandrachud said, “Today itself I will constitute a Bench.”

Besides seeking direction for the release of 24,000 cusecs of water at Billigundulu, Tamil Nadu has sought direction to the Karnataka government to ensure the stipulated releases of 36.76 TMC of water for September 2023 as per the Cauvery Water Tribunal Award as modified by the top court judgment of February 16, 2018.

Tamil Nadu has sought further direction to the Karnataka government to make good the shortfall of 28.849 TMC of water for the current irrigation year starting from June 1, 2023 to July 31, 2023.

It has further sought direction to the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to ensure that the quantum of Cauvery water that Karnataka has to release to Tamil Nadu is fully implemented and the stipulated monthly releases during the remaining period of the current water year are fully given effect.

Tamil Nadu in its petition before the top court has said that the “deficit in supply at Billigundulu as of 09.08.2023, which was 37.971 TMC has to be ensured in addition to the demand of around 24,000 cusecs, in the month of August 2023, is required to save the standing crops.

Pointing out that the CWRC in its 84th meeting on August 10, 2023, had directed Karnataka to release from its reservoirs so that 15,000 cusecs of water is released at Billigundulu from August 11, 2023 f(from 08.00 am) or the next 15 days, Tamil Nadu said that “Unfortunately, even this quantum of water was arbitrarily reduced to 10,000 cusecs by the CWMA in its 22nd meeting held on 11.08.2023, at the instance of Karnataka.”

“Regretfully, even this amount of 10,000 cusecs to be ensured at Billigundulu by releasing such quantum of water from the KRS and Kabini reservoirs has not been complied with by the State of Karnataka ”, says the petition by Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu has stated that “Karnataka is duty bound to release the Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu as per the Final Order passed by the Tribunal as modified by this Hon’ble Court. Karnataka has been directed daily/monthly release during the months of June to January and thereafter from February to May for meeting the environment flows. In the current water year.”

The Supreme Court by its February 16, 2018, judgment had reduced its share of the Cauvery River water to 177.25 thousand million cubic feet (TMC), down from 192 TMC allocated by a Tribunal in 2007.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Amitava Roy and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar (all since retired) had reduced the share of Tamil Nadu as vit had noted that the Cauvery Tribunal had not taken into account the 20 TMC of groundwater available on Tamil Nadu’s side of the river basin.

“In totality, we deem it appropriate to award to the State of Karnataka an additional 14.75 TMC of water, i.e., 10 TMC (on account of availability of groundwater in Tamil Nadu) + 4.75 TMC (for drinking and domestic purposes including such need for the whole city of Bengaluru),” the court had said in its February 16, 2018 judgment.

While allocating an additional 14.75 TMC of water to Karnataka, the top court had said: “The State of Karnataka would now be required to release 177.25 TMC of water at the inter-state border with Tamil Nadu, i.e., at Billigundulu.”