UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Release 3,000 cusecs to T.N., Cauvery panel tells Karnataka

Q1. With reference to the constitutional scheme governing the waters of inter-State rivers in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. The State List entry on water, which covers irrigation and water storage, is expressly made subject to the Union List entry on inter-State rivers and river valleys.
2. The Union's power to regulate and develop inter-State rivers under the Union List takes effect automatically, without any declaration by Parliament.
3. Notwithstanding anything else in the Constitution, Parliament may by law exclude the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court over disputes on the use, distribution or control of inter-State river waters.

• A. 1 only
• B. 2 and 3 only
• C. 1, 2 and 3
• D. 1 and 3 only

Q2. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. The Union's legislative control over the regulation and development of inter-State rivers extends only as far as Parliament declares by law that such Union control is expedient in the public interest.
2. Parliament may by law provide that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court shall exercise jurisdiction over disputes relating to the waters of inter-State rivers.

• A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
• B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
• C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
• D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q3. With reference to bodies such as the Cauvery Water Management Authority, constituted under Section 6A of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. A scheme under Section 6A is meant to adjudicate fresh claims between riparian States that the water disputes tribunal left undecided.
2. Such a body owes its existence to a scheme notified by the Central Government in the Official Gazette, and not directly to any provision of the Constitution.
3. The Cauvery Water Management Authority is a Council established by order of the President under the constitutional provision for inter-State Councils.

• A. 1 and 3 only
• B. 1 and 2 only
• C. 2 only
• D. 2 and 3 only

Q4. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. The Cauvery Water Management Authority came into being in 2018 through a notification of the Central Government, without Parliament having to pass a separate Act for the Cauvery basin.
2. The Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 empowers the Central Government to frame, by notification, a scheme providing for all matters necessary to give effect to a tribunal's decision.

• A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
• B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
• C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
• D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q5. With reference to the institutional arrangement under the Cauvery Water Management Scheme, 2018, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. Collecting daily data on reservoir levels, inflows and storage is a function of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee, which acts on the directions of the Cauvery Water Management Authority.
2. Regulating Karnataka's releases at the inter-State contact point with Tamil Nadu is among the functions vested in the Cauvery Water Management Authority.
3. Membership of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee is not limited to the basin States and Union Territory; it also brings in meteorological and hydrological expertise from Central bodies.

• A. 1 only
• B. 1, 2 and 3
• C. 2 and 3 only
• D. 1 and 2 only

Q6. In October 2026, Tamil Nadu sought 18.402 tmcft of Cauvery water for a 15-day period, of which 13.829 tmcft was described as a backlog of past short releases. The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee directed Karnataka to ensure about 3.88 tmcft at Biligundlu over those 15 days, and the Cauvery Water Management Authority endorsed the direction. Karnataka reported that inflows into its basin reservoirs were about 55% below the 30-year average. Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above?

1. The direction did not provide for the claimed backlog to be made good during this period.
2. The direction relieves Karnataka of the normal-year annual delivery obligation at Biligundlu fixed by the Supreme Court.
3. The shortfall in reservoir inflows was caused mainly by excessive irrigation withdrawals upstream in Karnataka.

• A. 1 only
• B. 1, 2 and 3
• C. 1 and 2 only
• D. 2 and 3 only

Q7. An upstream State is directed to keep a flow of 3,000 cusecs passing a gauging station on its border with a downstream State. Which of the following must also be known to work out the total volume of water the downstream State will receive under this direction?

• A. The total storage capacity of the downstream State's reservoir
• B. The width of the river channel where the flow is gauged
• C. The quantity of water now held in the upstream reservoirs
• D. The period over which that rate of flow is to be sustained

Q8. Consider the following assertion: In October 2026, Karnataka contended that Tamil Nadu's claim for release of a backlog of Cauvery water should not be accepted. Which of the following statements support/supports the above assertion?

1. Karnataka's cumulative releases from late July to late October exceeded the quantity stipulated for that period.
2. Inflows into Karnataka's Cauvery basin reservoirs during the season were less than half the 30-year average.
3. Biligundlu is the gauging point at which Cauvery water enters Tamil Nadu.

• A. 1 only
• B. 1 and 2 only
• C. 2 and 3 only
• D. 1, 2 and 3