Karnataka Water Resources Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy said the state cannot comply with the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s directive to release 4,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu, citing deficient rainfall, low reservoir levels and growing drinking water requirements across Bengaluru and the Cauvery basin.
Bengaluru, Sept 2026 : Karnataka Water Resources Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy on Thursday said the state would not be in a position to accept the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s (CWRC) directive to release 4,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu, citing drought conditions and severe water shortages.
Cheluvarayaswamy said the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) had upheld the CWRC directive without adequately considering Karnataka’s prevailing ground realities, including deficient rainfall, declining reservoir levels and reduced inflows.
“The water available with us has reduced further. How can we release 4,000 cusecs now?” he asked.
The minister said Karnataka had submitted detailed data on the water position in the KRS, Kabini, Hemavathi and Harangi reservoirs, along with information on declining inflows and rainfall deficiency. The state had requested that the release be reduced to 3,000 cusecs, pointing out that around 2,500 cusecs would naturally flow downstream.
“In the midst of a Super El Nino and drought conditions, how is it possible to release water? Our neighbouring state Tamil Nadu should also understand this situation,” Cheluvarayaswamy said.
He stressed that meeting drinking water requirements in Bengaluru and towns located in the Cauvery basin remained the state government’s priority.
According to Karnataka’s assessment, the four reservoirs collectively have 49.775 TMC of water, equivalent to only 47.60 per cent of their total capacity. The state requires about 29 TMC for drinking water, 10 TMC for environmental flows and another 23.40 TMC to meet the needs of standing kharif crops.
Rainfall data cited by the state showed that Karnataka received 406.5 mm of rain between June 1 and September 22, against the normal 643.4 mm, amounting to just 63.18 per cent of normal rainfall. Reservoir inflows had also fallen to around 2,200 cusecs.
The government said 71 per cent of taluks in the Cauvery basin, covering about 75 per cent of the region’s geographical area, had been declared drought-hit.
Karnataka also pointed to the water it had already released downstream. Between July 29 and September 23, the state released 4,47,182 cusecs, equivalent to 38.637 TMC, at Biligundulu. This was 25,682 cusecs, or 2.219 TMC, above the stipulated 4,21,500 cusecs during the period.
The state attributed the difficult water situation partly to the impact of a Super El Nino on the southwest monsoon. It also referred to forecasts of heavy rainfall in Tamil Nadu during the northeast monsoon, arguing that natural flows during the coming period should be taken into account.
Karnataka further claimed that Tamil Nadu had 52.177 TMC of water stored in its reservoirs and was therefore in a relatively comfortable position even without additional releases.
Cheluvarayaswamy said Karnataka would present its concerns before the appropriate tribunal and consult legal experts, including the Advocate General, before deciding its next course of action.
The state has urged the authorities to reconsider the 4,000-cusec directive and reduce the stipulated release to 3,000 cusecs, citing the principles of justice and equity, along with the likelihood of natural downstream flows during the northeast monsoon.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
