Water release based on CWMA instructions, says Minister Yatindra Siddaramaiah

“Karnataka is releasing water to Tamil Nadu, on the directions of the Cauvery Water Management Authority [CWMA],’’ Urban Development Minister Yatindra Siddaramaiah said in Belagavi on Tuesday (June 28, 2026).

He was responding to complaints by some organisations that Karnataka was releasing water to Tamil Nadu despite the low water levels in the dams due to scarce rainfall.

“There is no scope for individual decision-making on this issue. It is a legal requirement. We have to release water to the lower riparian States, based on the formula worked out by various agencies like the CWMA. Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar is taking appropriate and timely decisions based on the inputs from experts from the fields of law, agriculture and water resources. We know that there is less water in our reservoirs due to low rainfall. But the water is being released after calculating our need for drinking water in the future months. The CM is ensuring that there is no scarcity of drinking water,’’ he told reporters.