Chennai: Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Durai Murugan said that the state government would approach the Supreme Court against the Karnataka government over the latter's refusal to release Cauvery river water.
"Has the Karnataka Government said anytime that they will release (Cauvery) water? No! Be it excess water or scarcity of water there. Even after Cauvery Water Management Board has recommended the release of water, they have refused," Durai Murugan said.
"Karnataka Government is not respecting the Central government. The Supreme Court can only question (them), so we will approach the court”, he added.
Durai Murugan's statement came after the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee recommended the release of 2.5TMC water be released to Tamil Nadu for the month of May as the state is facing a severe water crisis due to the onset of extreme summer.
Last October, the Karnataka government expressed the state's 'inability' to release water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu as directed by the CWRC, saying it does not have adequate water in its Cauvery basin.
The CWRC had then recommended Karnataka to release 2,600 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu per day for 15 days from November 1, 2023.
Earlier that month, farmer groups in Tamil Nadu called for a bandh in the state, in protest against crop damage due to inadequate water supply.
Meanwhile, in March this year, Karnataka capital Bengaluru was facing a shortage of 500 million litres of water per day (MLD) against the actual requirement of 2,600 MLDs amid the severe drinking water crisis in the city. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had informed that 'out of 14,000 borewells in Bengaluru, 6,900 had dried up.
