Cauvery board to decide water sharing

The proposed Cauvery Management Board (CMB) will have supreme power in supervising and monitoring the release of water from reservoirs in Cauvery basin areas including to irrigation activities.

The CMB will depute its own officials to all reservoirs to supervise and release of water to canals within the states as well as lower riparian states while, the states have to submit in advance about the requirement of water for agriculture before the beginning of the southwest monsoon.

At the start of irrigation season (June 1 of every year), all basin states should submit an indent of requirement of water on a monthly basis. The board will examine requirement as per the cropping pattern and extent of area to be irrigated and order for release as per the ceiling fixed by tribunal. This exercise will continue till the end of water year — May 31  every year.

In case of low inflow, the board will take decision on reduce the quantities in allocation to each state.

To ensure implementation of the final award of the tribunal without any fail, the CMB will depute its own officers to each reservoirs and monitor water levels, inflows, storage and release to canals and lower riparian states on a daily basis.

However, the states have to bear the cost of construction and maintenance of the storages, power installations, diversion works, head-works and canal networks come under its territory. The CMB will set up a communication network in the Cauvery basin for transmission of data and a computer-based control room for data processing to determine the hydrological conditions including distress. 

The board has to ensure that all the state governments should construct proper hydraulic structures at all important reservoirs sites in the basin with provision of appropriate regulation mechanism, besides 235 regular monitoring of the withdrawals at such diversion structures on the part of the respective states would be necessary.

If any states failed to cooperate in releasing water to lower riparian states as per the tribunal order, the board can seek help from the Centre to use force for release of water.