The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Karnataka government to comply with the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s (CWMA) direction on releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. The direction came during a hearing on Tamil Nadu’s plea seeking immediate release of water from Karnataka amid a dispute over compliance with the water-sharing order. A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta asked Karnataka to ensure compliance with the CWMA direction and said the matter would be taken up again after a week. The court scheduled the next hearing for August 24, saying that the subsequent status of water release could then be placed before it.

The dispute centres on an order issued by the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC), which directed Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days beginning August 12. The CWMA subsequently upheld the committee’s direction, prompting Tamil Nadu to approach the Supreme Court seeking its implementation. Appearing for Tamil Nadu, senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan told the Supreme Court that Karnataka was not complying with the CWMA’s direction. He argued that the state was releasing water for irrigation within Karnataka while Tamil Nadu was not receiving the quantity required under the order. Vaidyanathan also referred to the storage levels in Karnataka’s reservoirs, saying the state had around 76 per cent live storage but had released very little water to Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu’s government has maintained that the shortfall in the release was affecting the state’s ability to provide water to farmers. The state therefore sought intervention from the Supreme Court, asking the court to direct Karnataka to immediately comply with the water release order issued by the statutory authorities overseeing the Cauvery dispute. Karnataka, however, disputed the picture presented by Tamil Nadu before the court. The state government said the claim that it was failing to comply with the CWMA’s direction was “extremely incorrect”. The competing claims over the actual quantity of water being released and the prevailing reservoir conditions are now part of the dispute before the Supreme Court.

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The court’s direction does not settle the broader Cauvery water-sharing dispute between the two states but requires Karnataka to comply with the existing CWMA direction. By posting the matter for August 24, the bench has also indicated that it will examine the subsequent status of the release before deciding the next course of action. The Cauvery dispute has repeatedly generated tensions between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, particularly during periods when water availability becomes a contentious issue.

The river is crucial for agriculture and drinking-water requirements in both states, making decisions on releases closely watched by farmers and state governments. For now, Karnataka is required to ensure compliance with the CWMA’s direction on the release of water to Tamil Nadu. The Supreme Court is expected to consider the latest position when the matter returns on August 24, including the extent of water released by Karnataka and the competing claims made by the two states.

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