UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Why did Cauvery panel order Karnataka to release water?

Q1. The Cauvery Water Management Authority, which implements the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award as modified by the Supreme Court, functions under the administrative control of which one of the following?

  • A. Department of Land Resources under the Union Ministry of Rural Development
  • B. Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation under the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti
  • C. Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare under the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare
  • D. Department of Space under the Union Ministry of Science and Technology

Q2. Which one of the following best describes the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee?

  • A. A tribunal constituted afresh under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act to re-adjudicate the shares of the four riparian units
  • B. A standing appraisal committee of the Central Water Commission that clears new irrigation and hydro projects proposed in the Cauvery basin
  • C. A technical committee under the apex Authority that compiles daily water levels, inflows and storage at eight basin reservoirs and gives effect to the release directions issued to it
  • D. A negotiating forum of the Chief Ministers of the basin States and the Union Territory that settles seasonal release quantities by consensus

Q3. By approximately how many thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) did the Supreme Court in 2018 reduce the quantum of Cauvery water that Karnataka was required to release to Tamil Nadu under the 2007 Tribunal award?

  • A. About 14.75 tmc ft
  • B. About 4.75 tmc ft
  • C. About 30 tmc ft
  • D. About 45 tmc ft

Q4. Under the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, the largest allocation of Cauvery waters was made to which one of the following?

  • A. Kerala, in whose highlands the river's principal monsoon catchment lies
  • B. Puducherry, whose Karaikal region depends on the delta's tail-end flows
  • C. Karnataka, which controls the upper basin reservoirs of the Cauvery system
  • D. Tamil Nadu, whose delta command area lies in the lower reaches of the basin

Q5. The release ordered from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu for the 15-day period beginning 29 July 2026 works out to a total quantum of roughly how much?

  • A. About 1 to 1.5 tmc ft
  • B. About 4 to 4.5 tmc ft
  • C. About 9 to 10 tmc ft
  • D. About 15 to 16 tmc ft

Q6. Consider the following statements regarding the direction issued in the Cauvery basin in late July 2026: 1. The direction to release 3,500 cusecs a day was first issued by the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee and was subsequently endorsed by the Cauvery Water Management Authority at its meeting in New Delhi. 2. Release under the direction is to be reckoned at Biligundulu, the inter-State flow measurement point, rather than at the head-works of the reservoirs from which the water is drawn. 3. Unlike the Regulation Committee, which merely compiles reservoir data, it is the Management Authority alone that is empowered to supervise the operation of reservoirs and regulate the release of water. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The direction to release 3,500 cusecs a day was first issued by the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee and was subsequently endorsed by the Cauvery Water Management Authority at its meeting in New Delhi.
  2. Release under the direction is to be reckoned at Biligundulu, the inter-State flow measurement point, rather than at the head-works of the reservoirs from which the water is drawn.
  3. Unlike the Regulation Committee, which merely compiles reservoir data, it is the Management Authority alone that is empowered to supervise the operation of reservoirs and regulate the release of water.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q7. Aggrieved by the Regulation Committee's 2026 recommendation on releases, Karnataka's stated course of action was to carry the matter to which one of the following forums?

  • A. The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, which had passed the final award being implemented
  • B. The Central Water Commission, whose representative sits on the Regulation Committee
  • C. The Cauvery Water Management Authority, the apex body of the implementation mechanism
  • D. The Inter-State Council, the constitutional forum for disputes between States

Q8. The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee, whose 2026 recommendation Karnataka sought to contest, is headed by which one of the following?

  • A. The Member (Water Resources) of the Cauvery Water Management Authority
  • B. The Chairperson of the Cauvery Water Management Authority, an officer of the rank of Secretary
  • C. The Chairman of the Central Water Commission, ex officio
  • D. A retired Judge of the Supreme Court nominated by the Union Government

Q9. Under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, the decision of a Water Disputes Tribunal, once published by the Central Government, has the same force as an order or decree of which one of the following?

  • A. The High Court of the State in which the dispute originated
  • B. The Supreme Court of India
  • C. The Inter-State Council constituted by the President
  • D. The Central Water Commission acting as arbitrator

Q10. Consider the following statements about the constitutional and statutory framework for inter-State river water disputes in India: 1. Article 262 empowers Parliament to provide by law that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of a dispute regarding the waters of an inter-State river. 2. Under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, where the Centre is of the opinion that a dispute referred to it by a State cannot be settled by negotiations, it must constitute a Tribunal within a period not exceeding one year of receiving the request. 3. Every inter-State river water dispute in India is necessarily settled through adjudication by a Tribunal, and the mechanism of a Tribunal is invoked automatically the moment a State raises a complaint. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Article 262 empowers Parliament to provide by law that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of a dispute regarding the waters of an inter-State river.
  2. Under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, where the Centre is of the opinion that a dispute referred to it by a State cannot be settled by negotiations, it must constitute a Tribunal within a period not exceeding one year of receiving the request.
  3. Every inter-State river water dispute in India is necessarily settled through adjudication by a Tribunal, and the mechanism of a Tribunal is invoked automatically the moment a State raises a complaint.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q11. Of the roughly 81,155 sq km drainage area of the Cauvery basin, the single largest share lies within the territorial jurisdiction of which one of the following?

  • A. Tamil Nadu
  • B. Karnataka
  • C. Kerala
  • D. Puducherry

Q12. How many Water Disputes Tribunals have so far been constituted by the Central Government to adjudicate inter-State river water disputes in India?

  • A. Five
  • B. Seven
  • C. Nine
  • D. Twelve