The Tamil Nadu Government on Wednesday made a fresh plea in the Supreme Court for issuing appropriate directions to Karnataka to make good the shortfall of 48 tmcft of water as per the distress sharing formula.

It said as per the formula there must be pro-rata sharing of the available flows during the southwest monsoon and Karnataka must release 2 tmcft of water per day for 24 days to sustain the samba crop grown in an extent of 14.53 lakh acres.

Cauvery River Authority's refusal to review water release order

The Karnataka Government has moved the Supreme Court challenging Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s decision as Chairperson of the Cauvery River Authority refusing to review his order directing Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu from September 20 to October 15. In its special leave petition, Karnataka maintained that the CRA by an order dated October 11 had rejected the plea to review the order on the ground that the review petition was not maintainable.

Industrialists planning to start polluting units in four districts of the State are unable to get the Consent to Establish (CTE) from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) as the government is not willing to relax norms.

According to TNPCB sources, the board has not taken any decision on the demand from industrialists to set up new units, including dyeing and fabric units, in Karur, Tirupur, Erode and Namakkal towns where water pollution has been a problem for a decade and more.

Citizens, be prepared to pay more for water after Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board starts supply from the Cauvery Stage IV Phase II.

Bommai writes to Union water resources minister

The Karnataka government, in a letter to the Centre, has contended that the prime minister has legal powers under the Inter State Water Disputes Act to review the September 19 decision taken in his capacity as the chairperson of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA). The government’s contention comes in the wake of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ruling out a stay or review of the decision of the CRA directing the State to release 9,000 cusecs of water every day to Tamil Nadu till October 20, saying there was no mechanism in place for him to do so at the request of a party.

The Cauvery Monitoring Committee Thursday directed Karnataka to release 8.85 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu from October 16 till the end of this month.

Cauvery panel says directive is in line with Tribunal’s award

The Cauvery Monitoring Committee (CMC), at a meeting on Thursday, ordered Karnataka to release a further 8.85 tmcft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu from October 16 till 31. According to sources present at the meeting, the CMC said this quantum could come from reservoirs or the immediate catchments below the reservoirs and above Biligundlu (Karnataka’s border with Tamil Nadu).

Contending that Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shivappa Shettar and six others had brazenly and wilfully disobeyed the September 28 order to release 9,000 cusecs of water, the Tamil Nadu Government on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against them.

Besides the Chief Minister, others against whom contempt action is sought are: Basavaraj S. Bommai, Minister of Water Resources; S.V. Ranganath, Chief Secretary; D. Satya Murty, Secretary, Water Resources Department;

Faced With Protests, K’taka Won’t Release More Water.

Even as Karnataka made clear that it would be “physically impossible” for it to release water anymore to Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court told the State on Monday that “all these agitations [in Karnataka against water release] don’t serve any purpose. Sometimes, they may spoil a good case.”

After hearing senior counsel Fali Nariman, appearing for Karnataka, a Bench of Justices D.K. Jain and Madan B. Lokur asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, chairperson of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA), to decide on Karnataka’s application for a review of the CRA’s September 19 order that the State release 9,000 cusecs to Tamil Nadu daily from September 20 to October 15.