CAUVERY WATER DISPUTE

• The Cauvery water dispute, which has been a bone of contention between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for decades now
• The Cauvery water dispute has influenced the politics of the region for long with parties stirring the emotions of people as the river has a deep cultural, economic and religious significance for them
• The Cauvery basin covers a large expanse of land including major chunks in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and also smaller areas in Kerala and Puducherry
• Initially, the dispute was between Karnataka and TN but later Kerala and Puducherry also entered the fray
• The issue dates back to 1892 when an agreement was filed between Madras Presidency and Mysore for arbitration but led to a fresh set of disputes
• Later, attempts were renewed to arbitrate between the two states under supervision of the Government of India and a second agreement was signed in 1924

• As Kerala and Puducherry also laid claim on share of Cauvery water after India attained Independence, a Fact Finding Committee was set-up in 1970 to figure out the situation on ground
• The committee submitted its report in 1972 and further studies were done by expert committee and the states reached at an agreement in 1976
• However, after a new government came to power in Tamil Nadu, it refused to give a consent to terms of agreement paving way for further dispute
• Later in 1986, Tamil Nadu government appealed the Central government to constitute a tribunal for solving the issue under Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956
• However, the tribunal was not set-up until Supreme Court took cognizance of the matter and ordered the Central government to do so in 1990. The Cauvery Waters Tribunal was constituted on June, 2, 1990
• After 16 years of hearing and an interim order, the Tribunal announced its final order in 2007 allocating 419 tmc ft water to Tamil Nadu and 270 tmc ft to Karnataka
• Kerala was given 30 tmc ft and Puducherry got 7 tmc ft. The Tribunal had come to a conclusion that total availability of water in Cauvery basin stood at 740 tmc ft
•  However, both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka filed a review petition before the Tribunal
• In 2012, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as chairman of Cauvery River Authority, directed the Karnataka government to release 9,000 cusecs of water daily

• The Cauvery River, also spelled as Kaveri, is one of the major rivers in South India. It originates from the Western Ghats in Karnataka and flows through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.
• The river and its tributaries have significant cultural, historical, and ecological importance.
• The Cauvery River originates at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri hills of the Western Ghats in Karnataka.
• It flows eastward through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu before eventually emptying into the Bay of Bengal.
• The river traverses a distance of approximately 765 kilometers

• The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) is a statutory body constituted by the Government of India under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956.
• The CWMA is responsible for the implementation of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) Award, as modified by the Supreme Court of India
• The CWMA has its headquarters in New Delhi. It has a governing council, which is headed by the Union Minister for Water Resources. The governing council also has representatives from the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry.
• The CWMA is a critical institution for the management of the Cauvery River basin. It is responsible for ensuring that the river's water is shared in a fair and equitable way, and that the river is managed in a sustainable manner.