Chennai | Karnataka government's stand on releasing a decreased quantum of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu is strongly condemnable, Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Monday and announced that a meeting of legislative party leaders on July 16 has been convened here to decide on the next course of action in the inter-state river dispute.

As on July 15, 2024, while the total storage in the four main dams of Karnataka was 75.586 TMC ft, the water level in Tamil Nadu's Mettur reservoir is a mere 13.808 TMC ft, he said in a statement here.

The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) has directed release of one TMC ft everyday from July 12, 2024 to July 31, 2024 after taking into consideration the present Southwest monsoon and inflows into dams in Karnataka.

"Under the circumstances, Karnataka government stating that it cannot release water to Tamil Nadu as per the CWRC directive is very shocking. The Tamil Nadu government has written to the Cauvery Water Management Authority seeking immediate implementation of the directive. Karnataka not complying with the CWRC order is violative of the Supreme Court judgment," the government said.

Moreover, as per the IMD's forecast, there is scope for adequate rainfall. Hence, Karnataka declining to release water according to the CWRC directive is a betrayal of Tamil Nadu's farmers, Stalin said, adding the state will never accept it.

Stalin said he has convened a meeting of floor leaders of parties represented in the state Assembly to deliberate on the steps to be taken to secure Cauvery water.

The meeting will be held at 11 am on July 16, 2024 at the state secretariat here, under the leadership of Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan.

Also, the views of legal experts will be obtained and the next course of action to be pursued will be decided by the Tamil Nadu government.

Siddaramaiah, after an all-party meeting on July 15 in Bengaluru said there is only 63 per cent water in the Cauvery basin dams and the state was not in a position to release one TMC water each day. The state government is ready to release 8,000 cusecs of water from the

Cauvery river every day to Tamil Nadu instead of the one TMC ft till the end of this month, which was directed by the CWRC.

Furthermore, the Karnataka CM had said: "Everyone was of the opinion that we should release 8,000 cusecs of water and not one TMC, which is 11,500 cusecs of water. If there is no rain then we will minimise the release of water and file an appeal before the Cauvery Water Management Authority."