The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) has instructed Karnataka to provide Tamil Nadu with 3,000 cusecs of water for an additional 16 days, extending from October 16 to October 31. This directive comes despite objections from the Karnataka government, which has cited drought-like conditions resulting from a deficient monsoon in the Cauvery basin.
T.D. Sharma, the member-secretary of CWRC, presided over the 88th committee meeting held in New Delhi. Representatives from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry attended the meeting. In the previous meeting on September 26, CWRC had ordered Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days until October 15, 2023. Vineet Gupta, a CWRC member, explained that during monsoon-deficient years, water distribution must be based on available data and a pro-rata basis.
Tamil Nadu also raised concerns about receiving the water shortfall immediately and adhering to a distress formula for water sharing with Karnataka. According to CWRC calculations, there is a cumulative flow deficit of 16.248 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) to be realized at Biligundulu between June 1 and October 10, 2023. The committee specified that Karnataka would release the owed water shortfall to Tamil Nadu once the reservoir storage situation improves.
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