Supreme Court refuses to raise Tamil Nadu's share of Cauvery water from 5,000 to 7,200 cusecs per day

The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to entertain an application by the Tamil Nadu government to increase its current share of Cauvery river water from 5,000 to 7,200 cusecs (cubic feet per second) per day..A bench of Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and Prashant Kumar Mishra said it was not inclined to interfere with the order passed on this aspect by the Cauvery Water Management Authority, particularly since this authority was monitoring the situation every fifteen days..The Supreme Court was hearing an application by the State of Tamil Nadu seeking fresh directions for the release of Cauvery river water from Karnataka.The Tamil Nadu government claimed that the neighbouring State had "changed its stand", and had released a reduced quantum of 8,000 cusecs of water as against the 15,000 cusecs that was agreed upon earlier.In a counter-affidavit, the Karnataka government told the Supreme Court that the Tamil Nadu government's plea was misconceived since there is a distress condition due to the failure of the monsoons. Further, it claimed that Tamil Nadu had misused the carry-over storage of water by drawing 69.777 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) excessively.Last month, the Supreme Court had indicated its disinclination to decide on how much Cauvery river water from Karnataka should be released to Tamil Nadu, without first examining the report of a designated expert body.The body known as the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) informed that the Karnataka government had released 1,49,898 cusecs of water from the river by discharging water at Biligundulu.This was between August 12 and 26. Further, the CWMA also asked the State of Karnataka to ensure the release of 5,000 cusecs daily for a fortnight, starting August 29..During today's hearing, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for the Tamil Nadu government, argued that the CWMA had passed its final directions despite finding that the needs of the State were 7,200 cusecs per day.Senior Advocate Shyam Divan countered that the Government of Karnataka had been compliant with the directions despite its reservations, and that it even released excess water. The bench eventually decided not to interfere with the CWMA directions for now..Penniyar Water Dispute: Supreme Court Judges from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu recuse.In February 2018, the Supreme Court passed its verdict in the Cauvery river case while observing that water bodies are national assets and that no one State could claim exclusive rights over them.The Karnataka-Tamil Nadu dispute over the water of the Cauvery river dates back to two agreements in 1892 and 1924 between the erstwhile Madras Presidency and the Princely State of Mysore.After several rounds of failed negotiations, the Supreme Court directed the constitution of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, which gave its award in 2007, allowing Tamil Nadu to draw a fixed amount of water every day.However, the dispute continued after both States filed petitions to review the decision.In 2016, Tamil Nadu again petitioned the Supreme Court as Karnataka submitted that it had no more water to share from its reservoir. Subsequently, the top court had asked the Central government to constitute a Cauvery Management Board (CMB).The two States have another water-sharing dispute pending before the apex court. That case concerns the Pennaiyar river. The Tamil Nadu government has filed an original suit in the matter against the Karnataka government and the Central government.