TN, Karnataka face 94.3 tmcft shortage

The Cauvery Monitoring Committee (CMC) headed by Union Water Resources Secretary D V Singh on Friday said Karnataka and Tamil Nadu together face a shortage of 94.3 tmc feet of water in the Cauvery basin areas.

The CMC, which directed Karnataka to release 12 tmc feet of water to Tamil Nadu, suggested that both states should explore their ground water resources to overcome the shortage.

At present, the four reservoirs in Karnataka have around 36 tmc feet of water against a requirement of 70.8 tmc feet for both drinking and irrigation purposes. This implies that the shortage is 34.8 tmc feet. Karnataka cultivates around 10.17 lakh acres in the Cauvery basin areas.

The Mettur reservoir in Tamil Nadu has 17.04 tmc feet of water at present, while the requirement is 89 tmc feet. The state, with a total sowing area of 14.93 lakh acres, thus faces a shortage of 59.5 tmc feet of water.

Hence, the cumulative shortage faced by both states stands at 94.3 tmc feet. The CMC will submit a status report on availability of water and requirement in both states to the Supreme Court on Monday. The apex court had earlier told the CMC to submit a report on water availability in the Cauvery basin reservoirs in both states, in response to the Tamil Nadu’s plea seeking release of 52 tmc feet of water.

The Supreme Court is likely to give its ruling on Tamil Nadu’s demand after studying the status report.