India, Oct. 13 -- The Karnataka Government told the Supreme Court on Monday that it will be difficult to meet Tamil Nadu's demand for the release of 11 thousand million cubic (TMC) feet of Cauvery River water for making good a "shortfall," as this was a rain-deficit year and several areas have been declared drought-affected.

On the other hand, the Tamil Nadu Government said it is only seeking its legitimate pro-rata share in the flows realised during the distress period, together with the backlog due to it, and the entire burden of meteorological and hydrological distress cannot be passed on to the lower riparian state, while Karnataka continues to utilise the available storage and inflows for irrigation and other requirements.

A bench ...