Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin strongly criticized the Karnataka government for not releasing the mandated quota of one TMC (thousand million cubic feet) or 11,000 cusecs of water from the Cauvery River to Tamil Nadu. He expressed his displeasure, stating that despite recommendations from the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC), Karnataka has refused to comply.
Stalin announced that an all-party meeting, to be chaired by the Water Resources minister, would be convened on Tuesday to discuss the situation. He emphasized that the next steps will be decided after consulting legal experts and other stakeholders during this meeting.
Highlighting the disparity in water availability between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Stalin pointed out that while Karnataka's dams hold 75.586 TMC of water, Tamil Nadu's Mettur dam has only 13.08 TMC available. He criticized Karnataka's decision not to release the allocated water as a betrayal to Tamil Nadu's farmers, alleging it was a direct violation of the Supreme Court's directives.
Previously, on July 14, the Karnataka government had proposed to release 8,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu following discussions at an all-party meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. However, this offer fell short of Tamil Nadu's requirements as per the directives from CWMA and CWRC.
Stalin's firm stance underscores Tamil Nadu's ongoing struggle to secure its rightful share of Cauvery water, a critical issue affecting agricultural activities and water management in the region.
