Cauvery water dispute: Supreme Court noted Karnataka’s 9,000 cusecs release to Tamil Nadu and sought updates as the State urged clearance of the water backlog

The Supreme Court on Monday resumed hearing Tamil Nadu’s plea seeking directions to Karnataka for the release of its due share of Cauvery river water, and noted that the upper riparian State was already releasing the mandated 9,000 cusecs.

The Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was informed that the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) had recorded a backlog in water releases but had not directed Karnataka to make up the shortfall.


Senior Advocate C S Vaidyanathan, appearing for Tamil Nadu, submitted that the State was facing difficulties in meeting the water requirements of its agricultural areas. He said around 24,700 acres of agricultural land in Tamil Nadu depended on Cauvery water.

According to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka had released only 49 TMC ft against the required 104 TMC ft up to August 27, resulting in a shortfall at Biligundlu, the inter-State water measuring station.

Vaidyanathan told the Court that Tamil Nadu had moved a review petition before the CWMA on August 27 and urged that the backlog be addressed.

“They have opened irrigation for 52% of the area while I have not even been able to open for 1%,” he submitted, arguing that the Supreme Court should consider directing clearance of the accumulated shortfall.

Senior Advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for Karnataka, disputed the allegation of inadequate release and informed the Bench that the State had released 9,888 cusecs on August 30, against the CWMA-mandated 9,000 cusecs.

He further submitted that the release had crossed 11,000 cusecs as of 8 am on Monday.

“We have released an excess amount... We will endeavour to meet this 9,000 cusecs as best we can,” Divan said.

Karnataka also pointed out that the State had declared severe drought in certain areas, including parts of the Cauvery basin, on August 27.

The Supreme Court observed that any decision taken by the CWMA would have to be challenged in the appropriate manner.

The Bench also noted that Karnataka was already releasing the 9,000 cusecs sought by Tamil Nadu and that the State had increased its releases from 11,000 cusecs to 12,000 cusecs from August 12.

The Court noted that the CWMA and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) were considering the issue and passing orders every 15 days.

It therefore directed the parties to place subsequent developments on record and listed the matter for further hearing on September 15.

In its affidavit before the Supreme Court, Tamil Nadu has sought a direction to Karnataka to release the balance 17.604 TMC ft of Cauvery water, calculated on a pro-rata basis as of August 27.

It has also sought enforcement of the CWMA’s direction for Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs from August 26 to September 8, 2026, and to make good the shortfall between the water flows recorded at Biligundlu and the quantum directed by the CWMA.

Background

Notably, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) had moved the Supreme Court seeking urgent release of Cauvery River water by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu in compliance with the recent directions of the Cauvery Water Management Authority which recently upheld the direction of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee to release 3500 cusecs per day to Tamil Nadu, for 15 days.

The Cauvery water dispute is a long-standing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu which started way back in 1974 when Karnataka, the upper riparian State, started diverting water without Tamil Nadu's consent.

DMK has claimed that as per the final order of the Tribunal, the monthly stipulated flows to be ensured by Karnataka at Biligundlu during June to January every year are as follows: June to September - 123.14 TMC, October to January - 44.11 TMC, June to January - 167.25 TMC.

The application further highlights that in the current water year, the South-West Monsoon has been deficient in the Cauvery basin. It is alleged that the flows realized at Biligundlu have been dismally low - only about 10% of what is stipulated for the period. According to the applicant's estimate (accounting for distress-sharing basis), the backlog due to Tamil Nadu at Biligundlu stood at 9.46 TMC on July 26 (to fulfill which requirement about 7000 cusecs per day must be released for 15 days).

DMK submits that despite the decisions of the statutory authorities, Karnataka has not released the water. On the contrary, the state representatives have been reported as saying that the state will not release the water. The application underlines the significance of the current period by highlighting that out of the annual quantum of 167.25 TMC, nearly 3/4th is required to be realized at Biligundlu between June-September, as this is the time when the Kuruvai paddy crop is raised and operations for the Samba crop are undertaken.

Last year, Supreme Court had also refused to interfere with the Mekedatu Reservoir Project proposed by the Karnataka government in Cauvery river against which a plea was made by State of Tamil Nadu against the balancing reservoir at Mekedatu in Kanakapura Taluk of Bengaluru South District on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border.

Earlier, Union government had clarified that it has not accorded “any approval" for the construction of new dams across the Cauvery river. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Raj Bhushan Choudhary, minister of state for Jal Shakti, had said no permission was given for a new dam.

Notably, in 2023 the Supreme Court had also refused to interfere with the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) order on directions to the State of Karnataka on releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and Prashant Kumar Mishra had opined that the CWMA and CMRC consisted of various experts in the field of water resource management they had taken into consideration the shortfall of water this year before passing said order.

Case Title: State of Tamil Nadu v. State of Karnataka

Bench: Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta

Hearing Date: August 31, 2026

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