Karnataka water resources minister Ramalinga Reddy on Thursday clarified that he had not made any statement ruling out the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, saying the state’s current inability to release water was due to poor inflows and inadequate storage in its reservoirs.
Reddy’s remarks came after Tamil Nadu Assembly’s leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin reportedly referred to the Cauvery water-sharing issue between the two states.
“Mr @Udhaystalin, I have not made any kind of statement that Karnataka would not release water to Tamil Nadu,” Reddy said in a post on X.
Explaining Karnataka’s position, the minister said inflows into the four major reservoirs in the Cauvery basin — Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS), Kabini, Harangi and Hemavathy — remained negligible, while available storage was insufficient to meet the state’s drinking water requirements.
He said decisions on water releases from Karnataka’s reservoirs are taken by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) based on recommendations from the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee (CWRC), adding that the state government has no direct role in the matter.
Reddy said the cumulative live storage in Karnataka’s four Cauvery basin reservoirs stood at 15.761 TMC as of 30 June 2026, which he described as inadequate to meet drinking water needs over the next three months.
The minister added that cumulative inflows into the reservoirs until the CWRC meeting on 30 June were only 4.05 TMC, including 2.915 TMC recorded at Biligundlu.
Karnataka had informed the CWRC and CWMA meetings held in June that the available water needed to be conserved to meet drinking water requirements in Bengaluru Metropolitan Region, Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar, Ramanagara and other urban areas.
According to Reddy, the CWMA and CWRC took note of the situation in the Cauvery basin and advised both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to conserve water by making judicious use of available resources. The authorities also emphasised prioritising drinking water needs and maintaining environmental flows.
The minister also pointed to delayed monsoon conditions, saying the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had warned of the impact of the El Niño phenomenon, which had contributed to rainfall deficits.
“I hope the southwest monsoon picks up in the coming days and sufficient flows become available in the reservoirs of both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu,” Reddy said.
With PTI inputs
