๐ฉAssignment of 8/july/2023๐ฉ
✴️The Cauvery River
image source :- google
๐It is known as ‘Ponni’ in Tamil, also known as Ganga of the south, and it is the fourth largest river of southern India.
๐originates at Talakaveri in Coorg District of Karnataka in Brahmagiri Range of hills in the Western ghats at an elevation of 1341 m.
๐ Drains a total area of 81,155 Sq.Kms. of which ➡️34,273 Sq.Kms lies in Karnataka,
➡️43856 Sq.Kms. in Tamilnadu ,
➡️2866 Sq.Kms. in Kerala and ➡️160 Sq.Kms in Union Territory of Pondicherry.
๐The Cauvery basin is bounded by
๐นTungabhadra sub-basin of Krishna basin on the Northern side and
๐นPalar basin on the Southern side.
๐Tributaries of the Cauvery River.
๐ฑLeft Bank:
๐นHarangi, ๐นHemavati, ๐นShimsha, ๐นArkavati.
๐ฑRight Bank:
Lakshmantirtha, Kabbani, the Suvarnavati, the Bhavani, the Noyil, and the Amaravati joins from the right.
⚜️The river descends from the South Karnataka Plateau to the Tamil Nadu Plains through the Sivasamudram waterfalls (101 m high).
⚜️The two branches of the river join after the fall and flow through a wide gorge which is known as ‘Mekedatu’ (Goats leap) and continues its journey to form the boundary between Karnataka and the Tamil Nadu States for a distance of 64 km.
๐ฑDams on these rivers
✴️Caveri
๐Krishna Raja Sagara Dam.
๐Kallanai.
๐Mettur Dam
๐Hemavathy Dam.
๐Harangi Dam.
๐Kabini Dam.
๐Amaravathi Dam.
๐Banasura Sagar Dam.
๐ฉKaveri River water dispute
✅The sharing of waters of the Kaveri River has been the source of a serious conflict between the two Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
✅Based on the inflow Karnataka is demanding its due share of water from the river. It states that the pre-independence agreements are invalid and are angled heavily in the favour of the Madras Presidency, and has demanded a renegotiated settlement based on "equitable sharing of the waters".
✅Tamil Nadu, on the other hand, says that it has already developed almost 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km2) of land and as a result has come to depend very heavily on the existing pattern of usage.
Any change in this pattern, it says, will adversely affect the livelihood of millions of farmers in the state.
๐ฉTo resolve the matter, the CWDT (Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal) was established in 1990 which took 17 years to arrive at the final order (2007) on how Cauvery water should be shared between the 4 riparian states in normal rainfall conditions.
✴️CWDT was constituted by the Central Government, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 4 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956.
✴️In distress years, a pro-rata basis shall be used, it instructed.
✴️The government again took 6 year and notified the order in 2013.
✴️This was challenged in SC (Supreme Court) which directed Karnataka to release 12000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu prompting protests in the State.
๐ฉThe final verdict of the SC came in 2018 where it declared the Cauvery a national asset and largely upheld the water-sharing arrangements finalised by the CWDT and also reduced the allocation of water from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu ✴️As per the SC, Karnataka would get 284.75 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft), Tamil Nadu 404.25 tmcft, Kerala 30 tmcft and Puducherry 7 tmcft I
It also directed the Centre to notify the Cauvery Management Scheme. The central government notified the ‘Cauvery Water Management Scheme’ in June 2018, constituting the ‘Cauvery Water Management Authority’ and the ‘Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’ to give effect to the decision.
✴️Mekedatu Reservoir Project:
It aims to store and supply water for drinking purposes for the Bengaluru city. Around 400 megawatts (MW) of power is also proposed to be generated through the project.
In 2018, Tamil Nadu approached the SC against the project even if Karnataka had held that it would not affect the flow of water to Tamil Nadu.
TN is opposed to any project being proposed in the upper riparian unless it was approved by the SC.
✴️How many dams are there in Kaveri river?
✅Out of 100 dams in the Cauvery basin, 13 were constructed between 1892 and 1934. (See map: blue dot). Eleven of these are now in Karnataka, and two in Tamil Nadu.
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