Supreme Court slashes Tamil Nadu's water share, says Bengaluru needs more water

In a major setback for Tamil Nadu, the Apex Court has reduced the Cauvery water share for Tamil Nadu. According to the Supreme Court verdict, Tamil Nadu would release 177.25 TMC or thousand million cubic feet to Tamil Nadu instead of 192 TMC. The Karnataka share has gone up.

The result would be seen as a shot in the arm for chief minister Siddaramaiah, who wil go to polls soon. For Tamil Nadu CM Palani Swamy, this will be seen as another failure after the defeat in the RK Nagar bipolls.

The bench headed by Dipak Misra said no state can claim exclusive rights to a river and that Gengaluru needs more water as it is a global city. The Chief Justice has also said the the 2007 tribunal allocation of 30 TMC to Kerala and 7 TMC to Puducherry remains unchanged.

Called the Ganga of the Sourth, Cauvery originates in Karnataka and flows through Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

The dispute is 120 years old and pertains to Tamil Nadu’s request in 2007 for a change in the water sharing agreement. While Tamil Nadu wants a fixed amount of water to be released, Karnataka wants to release water as per the availability.

The Supreme Court verdict could lead to further tensions as it is election year in Karnataka. The tottering Palanisamy government too might use it to consolidate its position in Tamil Nadu. In Karnataka there are celebrations immediately after the verdict is out.