CAUVERY

WATER DISPUTE
A PRESENTATION BY:

 MOHIT (1216)
 ANKIT (1217)
 SHYAMANAND (1218)
 SAKSHI (1219)
 KSHITIJ (1220)
 TABLE OF CONTENT

 INTRODUCTION
 WHAT IS THE CAUVERY WATER DISPUTE?
 HISTORY OF THE DISPUTE
 POST-INDEPENDENCE DEVELOPMENTS
 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE TRIBUNALS AND ITS IMPACTS
 SUGGESTIONS
 CONCLUSION
 INTRODUCTION

 The sharing of waters of the CAUVERY RIVER has been the

source of a serious conflict for over 130 years between the two
Indian states of TAMIL NADU and KARNATAKA.
 The HISTORY of this conflict rests in two agreements in 1892 and
1924 between the erstwhile MADRAS PRESIDENCY and
PRINCELY STATE OF MYSORE.
 CAUVERY RIVER

 The river Cauvery is an Inter-State river in Southern India which flows through
Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Union territory of Puducherry.
 Rises at Talakaveri on the Brahmagiri Range of Hill in the Western Ghats, present in the
Coorg district of the State of Karnataka, at an elevation of 1,341 m above mean sea level.
 The catchment area of entire Cauvery Basin is 81,155 sq. km.
 The principal tributaries of Cauvery in Karnataka are the Harangi, the Hemavathy, the
Lakshmanathirtha, the Kabini, the Shimsha, the Arkavathi and the Suvarnavathy.
COURSE OF CAUVERY RIVER
WHY CAUVERY WATER IS SO IMPORTANT

 Satisfy drinking needs of the people of KR, whereas farmers of TN depend upon it for
agriculture and livelihood.
 Entire basin delta of Cauvery river falls under the drought prone area. Therefore, Cauvery
river water is the only source of water there.
 KR holds 53% of Cauvery water resources within its borders, while TN only has 30%.
This, along with the fact that the river originates in KR, gives it a strong claim over
Cauvery water.
MAJOR FACTORS BEHIND CAUVERY
WATER DISPUTE

 Geographical location:
The river water is distributed as follows:
95% with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
5% remaining to go to Kerala and Puducherry.
For this naturally unequal distribution of river flow, it’s created a problem
automatically between two states.
 Irrigation:
The primary uses of Cauvery is providing water for irrigation, water for household
consumption and the generation of electricity. In some years when rains are light, the
low river level can lead to agricultural distress in areas dependent upon the Cauvery for
irrigation.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: WHY
DISPUTE STARTED

 1881- The dispute began between the Madras Presidency and the princely state of Mysore over the new
irrigation project of Mysore. But Madras presidency opposed this.
 1892- The first agreement was signed between Mysore state and Madras Presidency.
 As per Rules known as “rules defining the limits within which no new irrigation works are to be constructed by the
Mysore state without prior reference to the Madras Govt.
 1990- Conceptualizing the idea of constructing reservoirs to store the river water.
 Then British Govt. of India referred the matter to arbitration under rule IV of the 1892 Agreement. The
Cauvery dispute thus had come up for arbitration for the first time.
 They entered into proceedings on 16 July 1913 and the Award (judgement) was given on 12 May 1914. The
award upheld the earlier decision of the Govt. of India and allowed Mysore to go ahead with the
construction of the dam up to 11 TMC(1000 million cubic)
 Madras appealed against the award and negotiations continued.
 1924- 18 February 1924 the Madras Presidency and Mysore state signed an agreement for 50 years i.e., till 1974.
 As per the agreement in 1924, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry would get 75% of the surplus water, while Karnataka would
get 23%. The remaining would go to Kerala. There were also restrictions on how much land could be irrigated.
 POST INDEPENDENCE

 1956- Several protests have been witnessed in both TN and KR, which has sometimes escalated into violence.
 KR argued that the 50-year time period of 1924 had ended, not obliged to stick to the regulations, especially since
the river originated in the state.
 1960-1980- KR built four dams on Cauvery- Hemavati, Harangi, Kabini and Suvarnavathy.
 This became a problem for TN as the state had become dependent on Cauvery water especially huge area of
agricultural land in the delta area.
 In 1970, TN govt. approached Central govt. to constitute the tribunal and also in the same year TN Farmers
Association filed a civil suit in Supreme Court (SC).
 1986- Farmer’s association in TN’s Thanjavur area moved the SC demanding that a tribunal be formed for sorting
out the water sharing dispute.
 1990- Supreme Court heard the petitions submitted by both the states and directed them to negotiate. When dialogue failed,
the SC directed the center to form a tribunal which would decide on the distribution of water between the two states.

 1991- Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal (CWDT), in its interim order directed KR to ensure that 205 TMC ft of water reach
TN. The CWDT also ordered KR to stop its plan to increase irrigated land area.

 1998- the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) was formed and was tasked with implementing the interim order of the CWDT.
The CRA comprised of the PM as the chairperson and the CM of the four states as its members.

 2007- Tribunal announced its final order allocating 419 TMC ft water to TN and 270 TMC ft to KR. Kerala was given 30
TMC ft and Puducherry got 7 TMC ft. Both KR and TN filed a review petitions in SC.
 Water sharing criteria:
 Above normal water year: KR can use all the excess water available in its area after releasing 192 TMC applicable
in a normal water year.
 Below normal water year: When the total water availability is below 740 TMC, the allocated share of each state is
reduced proportionately. KR has to release water to TN on monthly basis proportionate to the monthly figures
indicated for a normal year.

 2013- KR has not accepted the order and refused to release the water to TN. In 2013, contempt of court was issued against
KR.
 A petition was filed in SC seeking the release of water by KR as per the guidelines of the tribunal. When SC ordered KR to
release water, Kannada people protested the decision saying they do not have enough water.

 16 FEB 2018- A bench consisting of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud,
delivered its verdict in the Cauveri water dispute, allocating more water to the KR.

 The verdict also mandated to formally constitute the Cauvery river management board by the union govt. within 40 days for
implementing strictly the tribunal award and its verdict.

 As instructed by the SC, the Cauvery Water Management Authority was created by the centre on 1 June 2018.

 The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee was created three weeks later.
 S. Masood Hussain was named as head of the CWMA and Navin Kumar appointed chairman of the CWRC.

Protesting against the judgement of the Kaveri River

Water Disputes Tribunal which ruled that Karnataka
release 419 billion cubic feet of water to Tamil Nadu in
the ruling that came after 17 years of often bitter
deliberations
WATER IN THE CONSTITUTION OF
INDIA

 Water is a State subject as per entry 17 of state list and thus states are empowered to enact legislation on
water.
 Entry 17 of state list deals with water i.e. water supply, irrigation, canal, drainage, embankments, water storage and
water power.
 Entry 56 of union list gives power to the union government for the regulation and developments of inter-state rivers
and river valleys to the extent declared by Parliament to be expedient in the public interest.
 ARTICLE 262 OF THE CONSTITUTION

 Constituent Assembly anticipated the emergence of water disputes in future. A specific provision of Article
262 is mentioned in the constitution itself due to sensitivity of such disputes.
 In the case of disputes relating to waters, Article 262 provides:
 Parliament may by law provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution
or control of the waters of, or, in, any inter-state river valley
 Notwithstanding anything in this constitution, Parliament may by law provide that neither the SC nor any other court
shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute or complaint.
 ACTS ACCORDING TO ARTICLE 262

 RIVER BOARD ACT, 1956

The purpose of this act was to enable the union govt. to create boards for Interstate Rivers and river valleys in
consultation with State govt. The objective of Boards is to advice on the inter-state basin to prepare development
scheme and to prevent the emergence of conflicts.
 INTER-STATE WATER DISPUTE ACT, 1956
Provisions of the act: In case, if a particular state or states approach to union govt. for the constitution of the tribunal,
 Central govt. should try to resolve the matter by consultation among the aggrieved states.
 In case, if it does not work, then it may constitute the tribunal.
Major parts of these irrigated areas grow water intensive crops like sugarcane and
paddy.
 HOW CAN WE SOLVE THE PROBLEM

1. Reduce water intensive crops:

• Shift from water-intensive crops to oil seeds, pulses, and millets.
• Implement paddy varieties that use less water per KG.
• Promote the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method for paddy cultivation.
• Government support and incentives for adopting water-saving practices .
2. Reduce dependency on agriculture:
• Agriculture contributes 16-18% to Karnataka's GDP, with 65% of the population dependent on it, similar to Tamil Nadu.
• High dependency on agriculture keeps farmers poor, as many rely on a small portion of income, worsening water scarcity.
• Reducing this burden by creating more non-agricultural opportunities can improve income distribution and water use
efficiency.
3. Use technology and develop adaptive farming techniques :
• Develop mathematical models to estimate the water availability in the river based on the rain estimation of the particular year.
Based on the details decide the particular crop/crops to be grown in the particular area.
• For example, if estimation says monsoon fails in the particular year then ask the farmers to grow oil seeds, millets etc. If the
monsoon is good ask to grow sugarcane , paddy etc.
4. Develop/Revive alternative water resources:
• Revive lakes in Bangalore to address drinking water needs and reduce dependency on the Kaveri River.
• Revive rivers like Arkavati to further reduce dependence on the Kaveri River.
• Also Tamil Nadu has lost 10,000 lakes since 1960 due to pollution, waste, and encroachment. Need to revive these lakes.
• Conservation methods like rainwater harvesting can reduce Kaveri water dependency by up to 10%.
5. River linking projects:
• Linking the water access rivers to the river like would be one of the good idea as it increases the water level of the river.
Godavari Kaveri river linking is one of the proposed project. However, actions to be taken considering the pros and cons of the
project into consideration.
6. Give and take policies:
• Karnataka also facing similar problems with Maharashtra, where Karnataka gets water by paying money. Similar-
way negotiations can be made between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
• For example, Karnataka can ask for power (since it is facing lot of issues) from Tamil Nadu for the for the water
that is provided. Such policies helps to both of the states.

7. Conserve water:
• There are many ways to reduce the water usage in urban and rural areas. Even for irrigation purposes.
Introducing such effective methods helps to reduce the water usage.
8. Promotion of micro irrigation:
• Drip irrigation, Sprinkler irrigation etc. can be effectively implemented wherever possible. Effective
implementation of recently launched PM Krishi Sichhayi Yojana can reduce the dependency on the water to great
extent.

9. Creation of Kaveri water management board:

• Independent and integrated water management board with complete autonomy to water sharing, water
management, dam and reservoir management in the entire river basin would help to de-politicization and
efficient management of water.

SUBRAMANIAM SWAMY (BJP leader) suggests- we can use sea water by removing salt from it. It
can be used both for agriculture as well as for drinking purpose.
CONCLUSION

 Though Kaveri river water problem is a challenge, it can be effectively addressed by

existing technology and expertise.
 However the politicization of the issue posing very high difficulty to bring change in the
system. Political parties of both of the states using the issue as trump card to get votes. In-
order to effectively address the issue, it is very important to keep away politics in the
Kaveri river water problem.
 Notable film actor UPENDRA, in his film “H2O”, says “Cauvery born from nature. It is
not someone’s property.” He wanted to say that Cauvery is natural phenomenon and we
should not quarrel in the name of river.

Click icon to add picture
A 12 HOUR KARNATAKA
BANDH CALLED BY PRO-
KANNADA
THANK YOU
Delhi Tamil People Shout
Slogans, Protest On Cauvery
Water Dispute Issue
AIADMK political party MPs
shout slogans during a protest
over the Kaveri river dispute
outside Parliament in New Delhi
on March 19, 2018