K'taka finds it tough to release Cauvery water to TN as per award

 With water levels in the Cauvery basin reservoirs remaining low, Karnataka is unable to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu as specified by the tribunal.

For Karnataka, this is a distress year. The total capacity of reservoirs in the Cauvery basin is 115 tmcft, but at present, the availability is only 62 tmcft. It was 82 tmcft in the corresponding period last year. The state requires 103 tmcft for irrigation and another 50 tmcft to meet drinking water needs of Bengaluru alone, according to Water Resources Minister M B Patil.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held a meeting with top officials of water resources and agriculture departments on Friday to discuss the consequences of deficient rainfall in the Cauvery basin which had resulted in low storage levels in the four major reservoirs in the region -- KRS, Kabini, Harangi and Hemavathy.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Patil said Karnataka will convey its position to the Centre. Karnataka wants both the riparian states to go by the “distress formula” as mentioned in the final award by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. 

However, water resources experts said applying the “distress formula” is a tricky issue as there are no specific parameters to arrive at the final calculations.

According to the tribunal’s final order, Karnataka should have released 34 tmcft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu in July but the state was in a position to release only 15 tmcft. The state requires to release 50 tmcft in August but has managed to release only 2.8 tmcft so far this month, the minister said.

Patil said farmers in the Cauvery basin will be requested to switch from paddy and sugarcane to less water-intensive crops like oilseeds, pulses and millets. Priority would be given to drinking water, he added.

The state Cabinet on Wednesday had decided not to release Cauvery water for paddy crops. However, Siddaramaiah is learnt to have told the meeting on Friday that a solution should be worked out at least to protect standing crops.

A similar situation is seen in Tungbhadra reservoir. The total storage capacity of the reservoir is 100.86 tmcft but the present water level is only 48.87 tmcft.

 No cloud seeding

The state government has dropped its plans to take up cloud seeding over the Cauvery catchment area to make up for deficient rainfall in the region.

Water Resources Minister M B Patil said the government has decided to go by the recommendation made by an expert panel.

The panel headed by R V Sharma, a retired top official of the India Meteorological Department had stated that September was not the right time to take up cloud seeding.

“If we start now, necessary procedures required like getting clearance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation would take at least 45 days. Cloud seeding can only be taken up in September, which is not feasible,” Patil said.