The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) on September 8, 2026, upheld a recommendation by the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) directing Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for the next 15 days. The order comes amidst growing distress over dropping reservoir levels in the Cauvery basin, where inflows have declined sharply over the past week. Karnataka had requested the authority to restrict any release to a maximum of 2,000 cusecs, highlighting the urgent need to preserve remaining water reserves for drinking water requirements across Bengaluru and surrounding urban and rural centres.
Expressing deep disappointment with the decision, Karnataka Agriculture and Mandya District In-charge Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy termed the order "illogical" and detached from ground reality. The minister emphasized that Tamil Nadu had initially demanded 17,000 cusecs, but current hydrological conditions in Karnataka make even a 6,000 cusec release untenable. Pointing out that drinking water security for millions of state residents could be compromised, Cheluvarayaswamy indicated that the Karnataka government is in consultation with legal experts and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to file an appeal before the Supreme Court as early as Wednesday.
The decision escalates legal and political tension over inter-state river water distribution in Southern India. For the public, the dispute directly impacts agricultural irrigation in southern Karnataka districts and threatens urban drinking water allocations as reservoir storage approaches critical thresholds.
