Bengaluru, DHNS: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said that his government will ensure supply of drinking water to people in the Cauvery basin and Bengaluru till May next year.

Speaking on the Cauvery issue in the Assembly, he said an estimated 23.3 tmcft of water is required for supplying drinking water to people in the river basin and Bengaluru till May next year. “The government will ensure it come what may. It will not be compromised,” he added.

At present, Karnataka has 34.13 tmcft in the four Cauvery reservoirs. The total storage is likely to increase by another 29.29 tmcft by December this year. So the government is confident of supplying drinking water even after releasing it for irrigation.

Karnataka has never defied the Supreme Court on the Cauvery issue. The state has released 1,400 tmcft of excess water to Tamil Nadu in the last 11 years. The state has faced distress situation on three occasions since 2005, that is in – 2012, 2015 and 2016. The state has not been able to release water as per the final award of Cauvery river water tribunal only during distress years, he added.

“We have complied with the final award though it is most unreasonable. Water has been released even in distress years. The government had no option but to take tough decisions during distress years. Drinking water is the fundamental right of every citizen,” he stated, strongly defending the resolution passed in the Legislature on September 23 to utilise the available water only for drinking purpose.

The farmers in the basin region had sowed about 6.15 lakh acres of land. Of this, crops on about 1.88 lakh acres have been damaged. Standing crops on about 4.26 acres can be saved if water is released now, the chief minister said.

On the demand to pay compensation to the farmers who have incurred crop loss, he said he will direct the officials to conduct a survey and submit a report in this regard.