Why has the Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu surfaced again?

The Cauvery water-sharing dispute is back again and is reigniting tensions between the southern states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. On Thursday (31 August), a group of farmers in Karnataka staged an all-night protest in Karnataka’s Mandya district, expressing their unhappiness over the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s (CWRC) interim order to release water from the river to the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. Independent MLA Darshan Puttanaiah, who is backed by the Congress, also joined the protest.

#WATCH | Karnataka | Farmers in Mandya staged a protest late at night as the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) passed an interim order asking Karnataka to release 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu daily for the next 15 days till September 2. pic.twitter.com/2uQwwubjnZ

— ANI (@ANI) August 31, 2023

This isn’t the first time that protests have broken out over the Cauvery river water sharing. In fact, the dispute goes back many years and has even seen a former chief minister sit on a hunger fast; in 1992, Jayalalithaa had sat on a four-day fast on the Marina between the mausoleums of Annadurai and MGR, demanding the appointment of a monitoring committee to oversee the implementation of the interim award of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal. As this dispute rears its ugly head again, we break down what’s happening now and how this is one of the oldest and most intense water disputes in the country. What’s happening now? While the north of India has been reeling under the onslaught of rains, at the heart of the current Cauvery issue is prolonged monsoon deficiency in Karnataka. Reports state that between 1 June and 17 August, Karnataka has recorded 499.4 mm of rainfall against the normal of 587.9 mm, a deficit of 15 per cent. In August, the state has recorded yet another massive deficit. Though neighbouring Tamil Nadu received normal rainfall during this period, farmers there rely on Cauvery’s water for irrigation. Tamil Nadu, led by Chief Minister MK Stalin, earlier this month approached the Supreme Court after Karnataka expressed its inability to release 15,000 cusecs of water per day due to deficient rains across the Cauvery basin. Additionally, they have asked the court to ensure that Karnataka complies with the release of 36.76 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) of water for September, as is stipulated by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. However, Karnataka has appealed the order, due to scarcity issues faced by the Cauvery basin area since the start of the monsoon this year. In fact, on 10 August at the 84th meeting of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee when Karnataka was ordered to release 15,000 cusecs of water per day for the next 15 days, it refused, citing the same reason of monsoon deficiency. It told the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) that it can release only 10,000 cusecs of water for the next 15 days. The BJP in Karnataka also carried out a protest against the release of water, alleging that the Congress government was ignoring the interests of Karnataka farmers. “It is not right to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu at a time when Karnataka farmers are facing a shortage of water (for their crops). The government does not have any concerns about farmers and protests are being held in support of farmers,” BJP’s Sumalatha Ambareesh was quoted as saying. [caption id=“attachment_13061312” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The BJP stages a protest in the Mandya district of Karnataka against releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. Image Courtesy: PC Mohan/Twitter[/caption] The Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government is also devising a ‘distress formula’ which would decide the amount of water that should be released in years of deficit rains. Currently, as per the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT), Karnataka is supposed to supply 177.25 thousand million cubic feet to Tamil Nadu at Biligundlu in a ‘normal’ water year. Experts say that the formula should not be e steadfast but function as a guideline as to how deficiency can be accounted for. As one expert was quoted as telling The Print, “See, this year we have a 41 per cent deficiency, so the distress formula would be that we will release 41 per cent less water than the normal year calculation.” Another also added that a ‘distress year’ should also be clearly defined. “What is the definition of a ‘distress year’? There are two issues, one, when the monsoon is less and two, when the inflow in the river is less. The duration of the ‘distress period’ should also be specified,” said the expert to Business Standard. The matter will now be heard in court on Friday. **Also read: Cauvery water dispute: Centre intervention is necessary for a permanent water-sharing formula** A years-long dispute The current conflict over the sharing of the Cauvery water is long-standing and can be dated back to as far as 1974. The Cauvery is considered a lifeline for many and is one of the major rivers flowing through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The river originates in Karnataka and flows through Tamil Nadu and Puducherry before it enters the Bay of Bengal. In 1924, Tamil Nadu built the Mettur dam over the river, and the two states signed an agreement effective for 50 years. When the agreement ended in 1974, Karnataka claimed the accord had restricted farming activities along the Cauvery basin and to make up lost time began building reservoirs that has led to the dispute between the two states. In May 1990, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to set up a tribunal and the CWDT was born. In the year 2007, after many hearings and riots, the tribunal on 5 February ruled that of the 740 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of water available to utilise, 419 TMC would go to Tamil Nadu, 270 TMC to Karnataka, 30 TMC to Kerala and seven TMC to Puducherry. The remaining 14 TMC was reserved for environmental protection. The tribunal had also stated then: “In case the yield… is less in a distress year, the allocated shares shall be proportionately reduced among… Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and… Pondicherry.” [caption id=“attachment_13061322” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The Cauvery water dispute has even turned violent in the past. In 2016, Tamil Nadu saw violent protests too. File image/AFP[/caption] Karnataka, unhappy with the ruling, filed a petition in the apex court and in 2018, the Supreme Court in its final order allocated Karnataka with an 14.75 TMC, taking its total to 284.75 TMC per year while Tamil Nadu would get 404.25 TMC. Kerala and Puducherry would get 30 TMC and 7, TMC respectively. Around 10 TMC would be kept for environmental reasons and 4 TMC was set aside as inevitable flow into the sea. With inputs from agencies