The central government on Wednesday set up a high-level technical team to study the ground reality in the Cauvery river basin, IANS reported. The formation of the team is the latest effort to to address the water-sharing dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The panel will be headed by Chairperson of the Central Water Commission GS Jha.

The decision to set up the panel – formed by the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation – follows a Supreme Court order that asked for a supervisory panel to lead a team to survey the situation in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and submit a report by October 17. The court had also directed Karnataka to release 2,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu from October 7 to 18.

Other team will also include Central Water Commission official S Masood Husain, chief engineer of the Krishna and Godavari Basin Organisation RK Gupta, chief secretaries from both states and a chief engineer each from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry.

The high-level technical team will meet in Bengaluru on October 7 and visit Karnataka's four reservoirs – Hemavathi, Harangi, Krishna Raj Sagar and Kabini – followed by Tamil Nadu's Mettur and Amaravati reservoirs as well as the lower Bhavani dam. The team is scheduled to comply with the apex court's order to submit their report by October 17, before the next hearing in the matter on October 18.

The Cauvery issue escalated after the Supreme Court, on September 5, directed Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of water from the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu. It later modified its verdict and reduced the quantity to 12,000 cusecs, but the order had led to widespread protests by farmers in Karnataka, who had argued that the state needed the water more than its neighbour.