DMK moves SC to direct Karnataka to release Cauvery water

The flows realised at Biligundlu have been dismally low due to this reason | Photo Credit: Anirudh Parthasarathy 10914@Chennai

The Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party urged the Supreme Court on Saturday to direct the State of Karnataka to release the allotted amount of Cauvery water required to protect the water-starved agricultural lands in the lower riparian districts of Tamil Nadu.

The DMK application, filed by advocates Richardson Wilson and Lokesh Krishna and settled by senior advocate P. Wilson, urged the court to direct Karnataka to forthwith and fully implement the July 28 direction of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee, which was confirmed by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) on July 30, by ensuring a flow of 3,500 cusecs per day at the inter-State contact point at Biligundlu.

The application also sought an order from the court to Karnataka to make good the accumulated backlog of about 9.46 TMC due at Biligundlu as on July 26, 2026, computed on the pro-rata/ distress-sharing basis.

The party said this could be ensured by releasing about 7,000 cusecs of the river water on a per day basis at Biligundlu for over a period of 15 days.

It asked the court to direct the CWMA to monitor the releases and to file a compliance report.

The application submitted that despite the binding directions of the CWRC and CWMA, the State of Karnataka had “neither released the water nor evinced the slightest intention of doing so”.

“On the contrary, the responsible functionaries of the State of Karnataka, including at the highest levels of its government, have openly and publicly declared in press conferences that the State of Karnataka ‘will not release the water’ and will instead pursue its remedies,” DMK said.

“About 14.913 lakh acres (net area) in the Cauvery delta are dependent on the Mettur reservoir for irrigation, which in turn depends upon the flows realised at Biligundlu from the releases made by Karnataka from its reservoirs. About four million farmers and about 10 million agricultural labourers directly and indirectly depend on Mettur water for their very livelihood,” the application said.

The party said the farmers of the lower riparian districts of Tamil Nadu such as Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruchirappalli and other delta districts were the worst affected by the non-release of water.

“The Kuruvai crop already raised is withering for want of water, and unless the directed releases are immediately effected and the backlog made good, the standing crops will be irretrievably lost, causing enormous damage and wastage and gravely affecting the livelihood of the farmers,” the application said.

It said the deficient SouthWest Monsoon this year has affected the Cauvery basin. The flows realised at Biligundlu have been dismally low due to this reason.

Published on August 1, 2026