The Cauvery (Kaveri) water dispute is mainly between:

The dispute over sharing the waters of the Kaveri (Cauvery) river is mainly between Karnataka, the upstream state where the river rises, and Tamil Nadu, the downstream state with the large delta. Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry are also parties.

Origin of the dispute:

• It dates back to agreements of 1892 and 1924 between the Madras Presidency (British) and the Princely State of Mysore.
• After independence, and especially after the 1924 agreement lapsed in 1974, disagreements over water sharing increased, particularly in years of poor monsoon.

Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal:

The Tribunal was set up in 1990 under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956.

It gave its final award in 2007, allocating 419 thousand million cubic feet (TMC ft) to Tamil Nadu, 270 TMC ft to Karnataka, 30 TMC ft to Kerala and 7 TMC ft to Puducherry, out of a total of 740 TMC ft (including environmental needs and sea outflow).

Supreme Court verdict (2018):

• In February 2018, the Supreme Court modified the award, increasing Karnataka's share by 14.75 TMC ft, mainly for drinking water needs of Bengaluru, and reducing Tamil Nadu's share accordingly.
• It held that rivers are national assets and no state can claim exclusive ownership.
• It directed the creation of a scheme to implement the award.

Cauvery Water Management Authority:

The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) were set up in 2018 to implement the decision.

Constitutional provision:

Article 262 of the Constitution allows Parliament to provide for adjudication of inter-state river water disputes and to bar courts from interfering.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Kerala is a minor party; the main parties are Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
• ✗Andhra Pradesh and Telangana dispute the Krishna and Godavari waters.
• ✗Karnataka and Maharashtra have disputes over the Krishna and Mahadayi.