Tamil Nadu moves Supreme Court over Cauvery water dispute with Karnataka
Tamil Nadu Seeks Supreme Court Intervention in Cauvery Water Conflict with Karnataka
Bharatmorningnews.com – The state government announced on Monday that it has submitted a petition to the Supreme Court aiming to settle the ongoing disagreement over Cauvery water distribution with Karnataka.
This legal move follows recent comments by Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who suggested that the Mekedatu reservoir project could serve as a lasting solution to the water-sharing conflict. According to Shivakumar, Tamil Nadu would ultimately gain the majority of benefits from this infrastructure development.
If the Mekedatu reservoir is built, nearly 90% of the benefit would go to Tamil Nadu, more than Karnataka. At no point can that water be diverted back to Bengaluru. Anyone can visit the project site and understand the facts.
Tamil Nadu has consistently resisted the current Karnataka administration’s position on this matter. Back in June 2026, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government achieved consensus within the state assembly, passing a resolution opposing the Mekedatu dam construction proposal.
Recent Committee Decisions and Water Flows
According to an official statement released on Monday, the 139th session of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee examined hydro-meteorological conditions across the Cauvery basin. The committee instructed Karnataka to release water from both Krishna Raja Sagara and Kabini reservoirs, ensuring a minimum flow of 3,500 cusecs at Biligundlu for fifteen consecutive days starting July 29 through August 12.
Later, during the 54th emergency gathering of the Cauvery Water Management Authority held on July 30, officials reviewed similar hydro-meteorological data and validated the committee’s earlier directive.
The Tamil Nadu government noted that actual water volumes received at Biligundulu between July 29 and August 2 ranged from 158 to 550 cusecs per second, falling short of expectations.
Biligundlu serves as a crucial border village marking where the Cauvery river enters Tamil Nadu from Karnataka.
Storage Levels and Proportional Share Concerns
As of Monday, Karnataka’s total reservoir capacity held 77.537 TMC of water distributed across four major reservoirs: Krishna Raja Sagara contained 23.078 TMC, Kabini held 18.610 TMC, Harangi stored 7.827 TMC, and Hemavathi retained 28.022 TMC.
The state government argued that Karnataka should encounter minimal challenges in releasing Tamil Nadu’s entitled water portion from these reservoirs to Biligundlu. Given substantial rainfall and heightened inflows into the Krishna Raja Sagara and Kabini catchment regions, Tamil Nadu’s proportional allocation at Biligundulu totals 26.954 TMC. Consequently, the government characterized the 4.536 TMC figure mandated by the Cauvery Water Management Authority as considerably insufficient.
Since Karnataka failed to deliver the required proportional water supply and Tamil Nadu’s rightful share amounts to 26.954 TMC, the Chief Minister consulted with senior legal advisors. Following these consultations, the decision was made to file a petition in the Supreme Court.
As per the instructions of the chief minister, a petition has been filed today in the apex court to resolve this issue and to ensure Tamil Nadu receives its rightful share of water in a timely manner.
Political Reactions
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Tamil Nadu branch expressed concerns that implementing the Mekedatu project within Karnataka would predominantly impact Tamil Nadu negatively.
The formation of the Cauvery Water Management Authority was the final and permanent solution. It was only because the two states were unable to hold joint talks that the Management Board was constituted as per the Supreme court judgement. Rather than benefitting Karnataka more, the Mekedatu project will severely affect Tamil Nadu.
BJP Tamil Nadu spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy emphasized that the Management Board emerged specifically because both states struggled to maintain productive discussions, and the project would ultimately harm Tamil Nadu more than help Karnataka.
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