Not possible to comply with SC directive: Govt.

The Karnataka government on Thursday said it is not possible to comply with the Supreme Court directive on releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu owing to severe shortage of water in four reservoirs in the basin area.

Reacting to the Supreme Court’s directive to Karnataka to release water to Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Water Resources Minister M.B. Patil said the total available water in the four reservoirs was about 9 tmcft and it was insufficient to meet the drinking water requirements in the towns and cities of the Cauvery basin in the State. Speaking to reporters in Harihar in Davangere, Mr. Siddaramaiah said, “We don’t have water. How is it possible to release water to Tamil Nadu?” The State government’s counsel will inform the apex court about its inability to release water to Tamil Nadu on Friday, he said.

Moreover, Mr. Patil said the water release season ended in December 2017 and wondered about the timing of the directive.

“The present storage in all the four reservoirs in Karnataka in the Cauvery basin is only about 9 tmcft, which is not enough to meet the drinking water and crop needs. We will direct the legal team to communicate the poor water storage situation in our dams to the Supreme Court,” he said.