Please read the tribunal's justification for the award.
It says the chief consideration for deciding on the issue was ensuring equity to both states by taking into account the past and present patterns of consumption of water. In TN, the main crop that depends on Cauvery water is paddy which needs a lot of water. Paddy has been the chief crop for several centuries and the main sustenance for this has been the Cauvery. As far as development of dams is concerned, the tribunal has observed that most of the irrigation potential of the TN had been achieved by 1974 (as visualised in the 1924 agreement between the then princely state of Mysore and the British presidency of Madras). However, Karnataka could not achieve what was stipulated in this agreement within the time specified. Moreover, the state had made it's claim for irrigation of semi dry crops (which were planned in new project areas). Semi dry crops need much less water than water intensive crops like paddy.
The irrigated/to be irrigated areas of TN and Karnataka with Cauvery water are 24.7 and 18.8 lakh acres respectively as per the award. The tribunal took into account various factors to arrive at these figures. These were 1) Pre 1924 status of usage, 2) Areas fixed in the 1924 agreement, 3) Areas otherwise developed by the two states that merited consideration and 4) Minor irrigation projects. Except with respect to the first factor, Karnataka's share is either comparable or substantially higher than that of TN. As regards the pre 1924 status, TN had 15 lakh acres dependent on Cauvery water while Karnataka (which too had paddy cultivation in the Cauvery basin at that time) had traditionally had only 3.4 lakh acres dependent on the Cauvery. It is chiefly this difference that has led to TN getting a substantially higher share of the award.
As far as Kerala's share is concerned, please note that all riparian states have a valid claim on river water.
One should consider these factors carefully to realise that the current award is a fair deal, especially when the combined claim of the two states is much more than the total quantum of water available in the Cauvery.
