Cauvery River Water Dispute
Recently, Tamil Nadu has approached the Supreme Court on Karnataka’s refusal to release water from the Kaveri river immediately. The Kaveri water sharing dispute between Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry dates back to a 1924 agreement.
As per the agreement, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will get 75 per cent of the surplus water, with Karnataka getting 23 per cent and Kerala the rest. In 1974, Karnataka expressed dissatisfaction that the agreement limited its ability to develop agricultural activities in the Kaveri river basin. After this he started building reservoirs on the river Kaveri.
This move by Karnataka posed a challenge to Tamil Nadu (dependent on Kaveri water) especially in the face of agricultural land spread in the delta region. In the year 1990, the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) was constituted. It gave its final decision in 2007.
According to a 2018 Supreme Court decision, Karnataka will get 284.75 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of Kaveri river water and Tamil Nadu will get 404.25 tmcft, Kerala 30 tmcft and Puducherry 7 tmcft.
Constitutional provisions related to water:
- State List: Entry 17 (Water supply, irrigation and canals, water drainage etc.).
- Union List: Entry 56 (Regulation and development of inter-state rivers and river valleys).
- Article 262: Adjudication of disputes related to water of interstate rivers.
- Parliament has passed the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956 in exercise of the power conferred by Article 262.
River Kaveri
- It originates from the Tala Kaveri located in the Brahmagiri Hills of the Western Ghats in Karnataka. It is also often called the Ganges of the South.
- Tributaries: Harangi, Hemavati, Kabini, Shimsha, Arkavati, Amaravati etc.
Source – The Hindu
