Cauvery row: Review plea filed before CWMA against order to release 3,000 cusecs of water, says Siddaramaiah

The Karnataka government on September 30 filed a review petition before the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) against the order to release 3,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu till October 15, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.

After reviewing the situation, the government will also file a petition before the Supreme Court, the chief minister told reporters in Bengaluru.

The order to release 3,000 cusecs of water to the neighbouring state was issued last week by the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC). The CWMA had, on September 29, upheld the CWRC's decision.

“A review petition was filed today before the Cauvery Water Management Authority regarding the Cauvery water release order. After reviewing the situation, a review petition will be filed before the Supreme Court,” news agency ANI quoted Siddaramaiah as saying.

A day earlier, state officials held a meeting with retired judges of the Supreme Court and former advocate generals to seek their suggestions, Siddaramaiah said, adding that "action will be taken accordingly".

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A state-wide bandh was observed in Karnataka on September 29 against the sharing of Cauvery water with Tamil Nadu. The protests were called by pro-Kannada groups and farmer outfits, and received the backing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular).

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on September 29 said the state government will appeal to the CWMA to arrive at a "new formula" amidst the current period of distress. Due to insufficient rainfall between June and August, the state is facing severe water shortage, he pointed out. 

“After today's Cauvery Management Authority meeting, a decision will be made as to what the outline of the formula in the distress year to be,” he had said.

Notably, the Supreme Court had on September 21 refused to put a stay on the CWRC's directive to Karnataka to release 5,000 cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu. The water-sharing panel, however, later revised its order and asked the Siddaramaiah-led government to release 3,000 cusecs of water from September 28 to October 15.

Siddaramaiah's office had, in a statement issued following the meeting with former apex court judges and ex-advocate generals on September 29, said the state has proposed the formation of an advisory committee by the CWMA to discuss the sharing of water of all inter-state rivers in the period of distress. 

“We propose the formation of an advisory committee, which will not be limited to the Cauvery but will handle all river disputes affecting the state. This committee will lend support to legal teams in any interstate water dispute cases," the statement noted.

Siddaramaiah also told the tribunal officials that the problem is rooted in the lack of rain received by Karnataka this year. “There was a problem due to no rain in the month of August. Even this month there is hardly any rain. Tamil Nadu will receive rain in the month of September. So far 43 TMC of water has gone. It has been ordered that 123 TMC of water should be released. But we have no water left,” the statement added.

Karnataka, on the other hand, requires a total of 106 TMC of water, including 70 TMC for irrigation, 30 TMC for drinking water, and 3 TMC for industries, Siddaramaiah told the tribunal, adding that that the state currently only has 50 TMC of water.

The state's opposition, however, remained unimpressed with Siddaramaiah's efforts so far. It has questioned the “lack of dialogue” with his Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin to resolve the issue.

"Any sensible and reasonable chief minister would have met the Tamil Nadu chief minister to discuss the dire situation related to sharing Cauvery water during the current distress time. Didn’t CM Siddaramaiah find time to talk to CM Stalin and discuss ways to resolve the grave situation? Or is he afraid that DMK will walk out of the opposition alliance, INDIA if the Congress government in Karnataka takes a hard line on releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu?” BJP national secretary CT Ravi said.