NEW DELHI, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- In a much-awaited judgment, the Supreme Court of India on Friday reduced the amount of water to the southern state of Tamil Nadu from Cauvery river in a bid to give additional water to its neighbouring state Karnataka.
The share of other two states - Kerala and Puducherry, which too depend on the Cauvery river for water requirements, has not been altered.
The 765-km-long Cauvery river is considered the lifeline for south India, particularly Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, which have been contesting their river water claims for long.
According to the verdict, Karnataka will now release 177.25 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) to Tamil Nadu instead of the earlier 192 tmcft.
The new water share as per the verdict is - Karnataka (284.75 tmcft, including 4.75 tmcft for state capital Bengaluru alone), Tamil Nadu (404.25 tmcft), Kerala (30 tmcft) and Puducherry (7 tmcft).
While delivering the verdict, the court's three-judge bench said that inter-state rivers are national assets and that no one riparian state can claim full rights over it.
The verdict is expected to trigger protests in the state of Tamil Nadu, as the farmers are disappointed at the verdict, said media reports.
While Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah welcomed the court verdict, the two main political parties in Tamil Nadu - ruling party AIADMK and opposition party the DMK both expressed unhappiness.