CWMA Upholds Order Directing Release of Cauvery Water to T.N., Pg1

Key Highlights:

• The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) upheld the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s (CWRC) order directing Karnataka to release 3,500 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.
• Karnataka had appealed against the CWRC order, citing acute hydrological distress due to a super El Nino effect, resulting in 65.65% below-average inflows into its Cauvery basin reservoirs.
• The CWMA, the apex body for monitoring water release as per the Supreme Court’s verdict, endorsed the CWRC order after reviewing hydrological conditions.
• Tamil Nadu, facing its own distress, sought an increased daily release of 7,000 cusecs, totaling 9.45 tmcft, under the distress formula.

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Detailed Insights:

• The CWMA and CWRC were established in 2018 under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, to implement the Supreme Court's 2018 verdict on the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) award.
• Karnataka argued that the southwest monsoon is its primary water source, while the northeast monsoon primarily benefits Tamil Nadu.
• The state also highlighted potential transmission losses, suggesting the actual release might need to be higher than 3,500 cusecs to ensure the stipulated quantum reaches the Biligundlu measuring gauge.
• The Supreme Court's 2018 verdict modified the CWDT award, allocating 284.75 tmcft to Karnataka and 404.25 tmcft to Tamil Nadu out of a total of 740 tmcft.
• El Nino typically weakens the Southwest Monsoon in India, leading to deficient rainfall and potential drought conditions, impacting agricultural output.
• The ongoing dispute underscores the challenges of inter-state water sharing, especially during distress years, and the need for a clear distress-sharing formula.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA): An apex body established to implement the Supreme Court's verdict on the Cauvery water dispute and ensure equitable water distribution.
• Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC): A subordinate body to the CWMA that monitors daily water levels, inflows, and ensures adherence to the water release schedule.
• El Nino: A climate pattern characterized by the unusual warming of surface waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, often leading to weaker Southwest Monsoons in India.
• Cusecs: A unit of flow rate, representing one cubic foot of water per second, commonly used for river flow and irrigation.
• TMCFT: An abbreviation for "thousand million cubic feet," a unit used to measure large volumes of water in reservoirs or river flows.