Water panel meeting suspended till September 19

The Cauvery Supervisory Committee tasked the Central Water Commission to come up with a new protocol of online collection of data pertaining to rainfall and flow of water even as no final decision could be taken on the quantum of water to be released to Tamil Nadu and other states. The committee will meet again on September 19.

The meeting took place in the midst of a raging controversy over release of Cauvery water by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court brought down the amount of water to be released to Tamil Nadu to 12,000 cusecs from 15,000 cusecs.

“The committee took a detailed presentation from the chief secretaries of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry and representative from Kerala and tried to reach to a conclusion. But, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka did not agree to a particular figure of release of water which was based on scientific facts,” Union water resources ministry said in a statement.

Union water secretary Shashi Shekhar, who chaired the meeting, said: “The states concerned could not produce adequate information relating to withdrawal of water, its utilisation, allegations of withdrawal when it was not permitted, variation in rainfall and its impact on the actual run-off over a period spanning 29 years.”

He added that chief secretaries of both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka did not agree over figures relating to release of water.

Mr Shekhar said: “We have also decided today as to what should be the protocol, methodology of the data collection. How can we make it completely online so that the data can seamlessly move to all the four states on real-time basis and there is no dispute on data collection.”

Noting the Cauvery tribunal has not discussed the water distribution for distress situation until now, Mr Shekhar said the committee should “hold discussion on it sometime”.

During the meeting, the Tamil Nadu officials are learnt to have pitched for quantum of water released to be in line with Cauvery water tribunal’s order and also expressed concern over the “unauthorised” withdrawal of water. “The rainfall data provided by the meteorology department don’t entirely support their (Tamil Nadu’s) claim of unauthorised withdrawal. It will also have to substantiate its allegations with data,” Mr Shekhar said.