SC decides to watch progress on Cauvery water-sharing, tells Tamil Nadu water is being given

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Tamil Nadu had sought the court to direct Karnataka to release the balance quantity of 21.357 TMC due as on August 12. Representational file image. | Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

The Supreme Court on Monday (August 17, 2026) decided to wait and watch the progress in Cauvery water sharing between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, even as Karnataka said that over 12,000 cusecs was released by 8 a.m. on August 17.

A Bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath addressed Tamil Nadu, saying “it is not that the State [Karnataka] is not giving water to you”. Tamil Nadu, represented by senior advocate C.S. Vaidyanthan, emphasised that the court must ensure that Karnataka should strictly follow the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) directions on water allocation.

The court said it would watch the progress while seeking a fresh status report. It posted the case to August 24.

Senior advocates Shyam Divan and Mohan V. Katarki, for Karnataka, submitted it was “erroneous” to allege that it had not complied with the CWMA directions.

“We have complied in full, especially considering the fact that this is a distress year,” Mr. Divan submitted.

Karnataka affidavit had submitted it was able to overcome the challenges of a distress year and worsening El Nino conditions to ensure the supply of water from its Kabini reservoir due to large inflows owing to good rainfall in the Wayanad area above the Kabini catchment which lies in Kerala.

“The releases from the KRS and Kabini reservoirs have already been reflected at the inter-State border at Biligundlu. From July 29 to August 10, Karnataka has released 1,64,080 cusecs from its reservoirs, and after a time lag of two days, the flows have reached the inter-State border Biligundlu measured by the Central Water Commission gauge station,” Karnataka had maintained in the affidavit.

However, Tamil Nadu had filed an additional affidavit in the Supreme Court recently, arguing that Karnataka’s release of water was “never voluntary compliance”.

Tamil Nadu had sought the court to direct Karnataka to release the balance quantity of 21.357 TMC due as on August 12. It had also sought the release of 37 TMC of Cauvery water from August 12 to August 31.

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