Cauvery water dispute: In SC, Tamil Nadu claims 20 TMC deficit as Karnataka says many districts face drought

The Supreme Court on Thursday (September 24, 2026) sought Karnatak a’s response to a Tamil Nadu plea that it is suffering a shortfall of 20 thousand million cubic (TMC) feet of Cauvery river water.

Karnataka, in turn, submitted in the top court that it was facing a “terrible drought situation”, and has complied to the best its responsibilities towards Tamil Nadu as an upper riparian State.

Appearing before a Bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath, both State governments, however, concurred on the point that the Cauvery water was a “very sensitive” issue for them.

“Karnataka is usurping all the water, depriving us of our own,” senior advocate C.S. Vaidyanathan submitted for Tamil Nadu.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, for Karnataka, said entire districts in the State have been declared as drought-prone. “Yet, we have taken it on the chin and done our best to comply,” he submitted.