RAS question
The Kaveri River is the subject of a water dispute primarily between which two states?
Correct answer: (B) Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The Kaveri water dispute is primarily between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Explanation
The dispute is over the sharing of Kaveri river water, with Karnataka upstream and Tamil Nadu downstream in the river system. The Kaveri rises at Talakaveri in Kodagu district, Karnataka, and flows through Tamil Nadu before reaching the Bay of Bengal. The official Union water resources annual report confirms that the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal was constituted on 2 June 1990 to adjudicate the inter-state Cauvery dispute, submitted its report in 2007, and that the Supreme Court delivered its final judgment in 2018. The report lists Karnataka and Tamil Nadu among the party states and gives modified water allocations for both, which is why this is remembered in exams as the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu Kaveri dispute.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Maharashtra and Karnataka are linked in the options to the Krishna water dispute, not the Kaveri dispute.
- (C) Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are associated here with disputes over Krishna and Godavari waters, so they do not identify the Kaveri dispute pair.
- (D) Kerala and Tamil Nadu point to the Mullaperiyar Dam issue in the options, whereas the Kaveri dispute is primarily framed as Karnataka versus Tamil Nadu.
Concept
This tests inter-state river water disputes under Indian geography and polity, especially how river location, riparian states and tribunals connect. It recurs in RAS because river disputes combine physical geography with federal governance and Supreme Court-linked current affairs.