The sharing of waters of the Kaveri River has been the source of a serious conflict between the two Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The genesis of this conflict rests in two agreements in 1892 and 1924 between the Madras Presidency and Kingdom of Mysore. The 802 kilometres (498 mi) Kaveri river has 44,000 km2 basin area in Tamil Nadu and 32,000 km2 basin area in Karnataka.[1] The annual inflow from Karnataka is 425 Tmcft (12 km3) whereas that from Tamil Nadu is 252 TMCft (7.1 km3).[2]
Based on the inflow, Karnataka is demanding its due share of water from the river. It states that the pre-Independence agreements are invalid and are angled heavily in the favour of the Madras Presidency, and has demanded a renegotiated settlement based on "equitable sharing of the waters". Tamil Nadu, on the other hand, says that it has already developed almost 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km2) of land and as a result has come to depend very heavily on the existing pattern of usage. Any change in this pattern, it says, will adversely affect the livelihood of millions of farmers in the state.[3][4] The pre-Independence agreements were based on the area occupied by Mysuru Kingdom and Madras presidency. The areas of South Canara (previously under Madras presidency) and Coorg Province which later merged with Karnataka have not been accounted to calculate the right of Karnataka's water share. Although the River Kaveri originated in the Coorg Province, the province is not included in the agreement. This raises a question about the validity of bilateral agreements between Mysore and Madras presidencies.
Decades of negotiations between the parties bore no fruit until the Government of India constituted a tribunal in 1990 to look into the matter. After hearing arguments of all the parties involved for the next 16 years, the tribunal delivered its final verdict on 5 February 2007. In its verdict, the tribunal allocated 419 TMC (11.9 km3) of water annually to Tamil Nadu and 270 TMC (7.6 km3) to Karnataka; 30 TMC (0.85 km3) of Kaveri river water to Kerala and 7 TMC (0.2 km3) to Puducherry. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are the major shareholders, and Karnataka was ordered to release 192 TMC (5.4 km3) of water to Tamil Nadu in a normal year from June to May.[5]
The dispute, however, did not end there, as all four states decided to file review petitions seeking clarifications and possible renegotiation of the order.
| Basis | Tamil Nadu | Karnataka | Kerala | Puducherry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basin Area up to Lower Coleroon Anicut site (in km2)[6] | 44,016 (54%) | 34,273 (42%) | 2,866 (4%) | 0(-) | 81,155 |
| Drought area in the basin (in km2)[7] | 12,790 (36.9%) | 21,870 (63.1%) | -- | -- | 34,660 |
| Inflow from basin in TMC[7] | 252 (32%) | 425 (54%) | 113 (14%) | -- | |
| Share for each state as per tribunal verdict of 2007[8] | 419 (58.19%) | 270 (37.19%) | 30 (4.13%) | 7 (0.96%) | 726 |
| Share for each state as per Supreme Court verdict of 2018[9][10] | 404.25 (55.68%) | 284.75 (39.22%) | 30 (4.13%) | 7 (0.96%) | 726 |
The first agreement on sharing Kaveri river water dates back to 1892, between Madras Presidency and princely state of Mysuru.
- ^ "Cauverrg/web/20161007223116/http://wrmin.nic.in/writereaddata/Inter-StateWaterDisputes/Plate-96114017519.jpg".
- ^ Sood, Jyotika (31 October 2012). "The paddy compulsion". Down to Earth.
- ^ "Kavery River basin". WRIS. 2014. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
- ^ "Basin Report – Cauvery" (PDF). WRIS. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
- ^ "Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal report". Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
- ^ "A Background Paper on Article 262 and Inter-State Disputes Relating to Water". Ministry of Law and Justice. Archived from the original on 9 April 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ a b Anand, P. B. (2004). Water and Identity – An Analysis of the Cauvery River Water Dispute. University of Bradford. ISBN 9781898828686.
- ^ "Cauvery tribunal gives TN 419 tmcft, 270 to Karnataka". Rediff.com. 5 February 2007.
- ^ "Supreme Court verdict dated 16 February 2018" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
- ^ "Bengaluru's global status earns Karnataka 4.75 tmcft Cauvery water". Rediff.com. 5 February 2007.