Karnataka terms Tamil Nadu's plea on Cauvery water dispute 'wholly misconceived'
New Delhi (PTI): The Karnataka government has described as "wholly misconceived" Tamil Nadu's plea seeking a direction from the Supreme Court that it be asked to release 24,000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily for standing crops.
The Karnataka government, in an affidavit filed in the top court, has said Tamil Nadu's plea was based on an incorrect assumption that "the current water year is a normal water year and not a distressed water year".
Rainfall has been 25 per cent lower and the water inflow into Karnataka's four reservoirs 42.5 per cent lesser, the affidavit said, adding that the stipulated release shall not be applicable this year.
According to the affidavit, Karnataka said the southwest monsoon has largely failed so far during the current water year.
Due to the same, a "distress condition" has arisen in the Cauvery basin in Karnataka.
"Karnataka, therefore, is not obliged to and it cannot be compelled to ensure water as per the stipulated relief is prescribed for the normal year," the affidavit stated.
The top court is scheduled to hear Tamil Nadu's plea on Friday.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had earlier said that a fresh bench will be set up to hear the decades-old dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over sharing of the Cauvery's water.
Appearing for Tamil Nadu, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi had said an application was filed by the state seeking the release of water for August that has been ordered by the Cauvery Water Management Authority.
Rohatgi had told the apex court that a bench would have to be constituted to hear the matter.
On August 11, Tamil Nadu said it had no other option but to approach the apex court to get its genuine share of the Cauvery's water.
It had contended that in a change of stand, Karnataka was prepared to release only a reduced quantum of 8,000 cusecs (cubic foot per second) every day.
Referring to the deliberations of the Cauvery Water Management Authority in Delhi in August, Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan had said the requirement for the Cauvery's water was emphatically put forth by state officials.
"However, Karnataka as usual changed its stand and categorically said that it could only release 8,000 cusecs and that too only till August 22," he had said.
The minister had said it was unanimously decided at a meeting of the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee on August 10 that 15,000 cusecs per day would be released by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.
"Hence, the Tamil Nadu government has no other option but to approach the Supreme Court. Soon, a case will be filed in the apex court. Justice will win and we will get water and Chief Minister MK Stalin-led government is determined to get water," he had said.
The combined storage capacity of the four dams in Karnataka is 114.571 tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet) and it has 93.535 tmc ft storage, which is about 82 per cent, the minister had said.
Duraimurugan had alleged that Karnataka does not "have a heart" to share water with Tamil Nadu though it had enough water.
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Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah accuses EC of ‘bias’, defends state guarantee schemes ahead of bypolls
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has accused the EC of "double standards" and "bias" after it sought details on the state’s guarantee schemes in Davanagere and Bagalkot districts, where bypolls are scheduled for Thursday.
In a post on 'X' on Wednesday, Siddaramaiah said the Election Commission of India had asked the Karnataka government for information on fund releases under five ongoing guarantee schemes in the constituencies going to polls.
The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, respectively.
The schemes are Gruha Jyothi, which provides 200 units of free electricity to every household; Gruha Lakshmi, offering Rs 2,000 to women heading families; and Anna Bhagya, supplying 10 kg of rice per month to each member of BPL families.
In addition, Yuva Nidhi grants Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders aged 18–25 for two years, while Shakti enables women to travel free of charge within Karnataka on government non-luxury buses.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the ECI had remained silent when similar cash transfer schemes were announced in Maharashtra and Bihar ahead of elections, calling the scrutiny of Karnataka’s schemes a "clear case of bias".
"In states like Maharashtra and Bihar, cash transfer schemes were announced or fast-tracked just before elections, directly benefiting voters. Yet the ECI remained silent. This is not neutrality—it is complicity," he said.
The CM accused the BJP and NDA governments of "a double standard", noting that when they act, the ECI "looks the other way", but when Karnataka fulfils its promises, it faces "intense scrutiny".
He added that targeting the state’s guarantee schemes is "not just political but anti-poor, anti-women, and anti-Karnataka."
Siddaramaiah clarified that these schemes were not launched in connection with the bypolls but are ongoing programmes implemented as part of the Congress government’s commitments from the 2023 Assembly elections.
Funds are transferred regularly to beneficiaries in a transparent and structured manner, he added.
"The guarantees are part of governance—a direct investment in human dignity, household stability, and economic participation, not inducement," he said.
He also accused the BJP of "hypocrisy", saying that while it criticises Karnataka’s schemes as "freebies", it rolls out similar programmes in states it governs.
"The Karnataka model has set a benchmark for the country. What is deeply concerning, however, is the ECI’s selective approach," Siddaramaiah added.
