Direct Karnataka to release backlog of 17,604 tmcft Cauvery water: TN to Supreme Court

The exposed rocky bed of the Cauvery at Hogenakkal in Tamil Nadu earlier this month. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday (August 30, 2026) approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to Karnataka to release 17,604 tmcft of Cauvery water, the balance amount as on August 27, on a pro-rata basis.

The state, in a supplementary affidavit filed by senior advocate G Umapathy and again argued by CS Vaidyanathan, also urged the court to order Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of water between August 26 and September 8 as ordered by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) in its 56th session.

It further sought the apex court’s intervention to order Karnataka to rectify the shortfall between the flows secured in Billigundul, a riverside village on the border between the two states, and the flows ordered by the CWMA to take place between August 27 and August 30.

“Farmers seriously affected”

“The ground reality is that the Cauvery basin in Tamil Nadu is very seriously affected. Farmers in the Cauvery delta are seriously affected as the Kuruvai season is almost over and Mettur could not be opened for irrigation due to lack of adequate storage and cultivation of the samba crop and has been seriously affected, causing great concern among the farming community in the Delta-Auta, even in the current water year,” Tamil Nadu said in an affidavit filed by advocate B. by Karunakaran.

A bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath is scheduled to hear the Cauvery case on August 31.

A previous hearing on August 24 saw the apex court advising Tamil Nadu to raise its concerns over the release of “adequate” Cauvery water from Karnataka before the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) and CWMA in meetings scheduled during the week.

“CWRC Concerns Expressed”

Tamil Nadu said its member in the CWRC meeting held on August 24 raised the state’s claim to get around 28 TMC. The member requested CWRC to allow the release of around 22,000 cusecs (1.9 TMC per day) for 15 days starting from August 24.

The state also submitted before the CWRC that Karnataka has already pumped more than 20 TMC from its canals for irrigation and also through dug canals and lift irrigation systems, while Tamil Nadu has not been able to open the Mettur reservoir for irrigation yet.

“However, CWRC has directed Karnataka to ensure releases from its reservoirs to realize flows of 9,000 cusecs at Billigundul with effect from August 25 to September 8,” Tamil Nadu said.

It says CWRC has fixed 9,000 cusecs for the next 15 days with effect from August 25, disregarding the accumulated backlog of 17,415 TMC as on August 23.

‘Backup must be released’

Tamil Nadu said it raised its complaint before the CWMA at its meeting the very next day on August 25 about the “gross inadequacy” of the CWRC’s order to release Cauvery water.

The state informed the apex court that it has urged the CWMA to direct Karnataka to ensure the release of 1.9 TMC per day from August 24 to September 7 to ensure that the backlog in terms of pro rata formula is also released by Karnataka.

“However, the CWMA, without considering the purport of the scheme laid down under Section 6A of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956, which mandates pro-rata release in years of distress, scrupulously took no steps to direct Karnataka to rectify the same. The CWMA mechanically upheld the recommendations of the CWRC only from 0 August 25 to 8 September,” Tamil Nadu’s affidavit said.

Published – 30 Aug 2026 22:39 IST