Tamil Nadu terms Karnataka’s refusal to release Cauvery water as 'treachery', convenes all-party meeting on July 16

Chennai: Terming Karnataka’s refusal to release 1 tmcft of water every day from July 12 to July 31 as an act of “treachery”, Tamil Nadu has convened a meeting of leaders of all legislative parties on Tuesday to discuss the next course of action to be taken by the state government on this sensitive issue.

Chief Minister M K Stalin said the meeting which will be chaired by Water Resources Minister Durai Murugan at 11 am at the Secretariat—the seat of power of the Tamil Nadu government—will be attended by leaders of parties represented in the assembly.

Stalin said the Cauvery Water regulatory Commission (CWRC) and Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) directed the Karnataka government to release 1 tmcft of water after considering the expected inflow of water into dams in Karnataka due to the monsoon rains.

“Karnataka government’s decision not to release water (1 tmcft) to Tamil Nadu is shocking. Tamil Nadu has also written to CWMA seeking implementation of its order,” Stalin said, adding that the combined storage of four reservoirs in Karnataka is 75.586 tmcft whereas the storage in Mettur dam in Tamil Nadu is just 13.808 tmcft.

The Stanley Reservoir in Mettur wasn’t opened on the scheduled date of June 12 due to non-availability of adequate water for cultivation of kuruvai (short-term crop) in the Cauvery Delta region in Tamil Nadu.

Stalin said Karnataka’s decision not to implement the order of the CWRC is “condemnable” and “insulting” to the farmers of Tamil Nadu who are dependent on Cauvery water for irrigation. “The Tamil Nadu government will never accept any act that affects the farmers of the state. The all-party meeting will discuss the next course of action that the state government should follow,” the Chief Minister added.

Stalin also said the government will also consult legal experts in this regard. The decision by the Tamil Nadu government comes two days after Karnataka made it clear it can only release only 8,000 cusecs of water every day, not 1 tmcft of water as ordered by the CWRC.

Meanwhile, Paatali Makkal Katchi demanded that Stalin himself chair the all-party meeting instead of Durai Murugan.