Chennai: Water Resources Minister Anand said in the Assembly that obtaining Cauvery water from Karnataka is a challenge.
Speaking at the end of the debate on the special attention motion regarding the Cauvery issue in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly yesterday, Water Resources Minister N. Anand said: Tamil Nadu’s rights have been upheld through various orders, including those of the Cauvery Tribunal and the Supreme Court, regarding the sharing of Cauvery river water.
However, obtaining Tamil Nadu’s share from Karnataka on a monthly basis has been a challenge for many years. In this situation, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister requested that talks be held with the Karnataka Chief Minister on various issues, including the Cauvery river water-sharing dispute. It was decided to hold these talks in Bengaluru on August 3.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka Chief Minister said that that day was not suitable for talks and that they could be held on another day, so the meeting did not take place on the specified date. The inflow of water into Karnataka’s four major dams has increased significantly.
At the same time, inflow to the Mettur dam is also improving. However, the Tamil Nadu government is monitoring the situation daily by examining in an integrated manner the continuous inflow from Karnataka, the water storage in the Mettur dam, the irrigation needs of the delta, and drinking water security.
A decision on opening the Mettur dam for irrigation will be taken according to the situation. The Tamil Nadu government will not compromise at any stage on the Cauvery rights issue.
The government continues to take all necessary measures legally, technically, and administratively. We are firmly working to fully protect the welfare of Delta farmers, drinking water security, and Tamil Nadu’s lawful Cauvery rights.
The Central Water Commission sent guidelines in December 2025 to the concerned states for preparing new irrigation and multipurpose projects in the Cauvery basin.
The Cauvery basin is a deficit basin. Therefore, since there is no possibility of implementing any new project, we requested the Central Water Commission and the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti to withdraw these guidelines.
At the same time, because those guidelines have not been withdrawn, Karnataka may use them to prepare a new project.
Therefore, a writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court on the 3rd seeking an order directing the Central Water Commission to withdraw these guidelines.
The Tamil Nadu government is giving due attention to important issues such as the Cauvery river water-sharing dispute and preventing the Mekedatu dam, and is taking continuous steps without allowing the state’s rights to be diluted. He said this.
