The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition filed by Cauvery Nadhi Rakshna Samiti seeking reallocation of 70 TMC of Cauvery river water from Tamil Nadu’s share to Karnataka, observing that the inter-State dispute is already being litigated by the two States before the appropriate forums.
A Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta said there was no justification for entertaining a separate petition by a society seeking alteration of the existing water-sharing arrangement. The Supreme Court cautioned that allowing private societies to raise inter-state disputes would lead to a process without end
The Court noted that Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were already contesting issues concerning the Cauvery water allocation and that relevant proceedings remained pending.
The petition sought transfer of 70.91 TMC from Tamil Nadu’s allocation to Karnataka, citing what it described as six errors in the existing allocation.
Among other grounds, the petitioner alleged that Tamil Nadu’s groundwater availability had been underestimated by 20 TMC and that Karnataka had received inadequate allocation for domestic and industrial requirements, including the projected needs of Bengaluru.
It also claimed that Karnataka was wrongly denied 17.44 TMC relating to lift irrigation schemes and 23.97 TMC for a second crop covering 1.85 lakh acres. A further 5 TMC was sought for environmental protection along Karnataka’s 320-km stretch of the Cauvery.
The society also challenged the allocation of 4 TMC as “escapage to sea”, contending that 2 TMC should instead have been retained by Karnataka.
Apart from seeking reallocation, the petition challenged aspects of the functioning and powers of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA). It sought a scientific, rainfall-responsive formula for managing distress and surplus years, minimum carry-over storage of 20 TMC, and a review of the allocation and regulatory mechanism every five years.
The petitioner also questioned the statutory validity of the Cauvery Water Management Scheme notified in 2018 and sought curtailment of the CWMA’s regulatory powers.
The Supreme Court is already seized of proceedings concerning the Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Last month, the Court directed Karnataka to comply with directions issued by the CWMA.
Against this backdrop, the Bench declined to entertain the society’s separate challenge seeking a fresh reallocation of the inter-State water share.
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