What is the Cauvery water dispute? The Cauvery basin (Wikimedia Commons) The Cauvery basin (Wikimedia Commons)Historically, Tamil Nadu used about 602 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of the total yield of the Cauvery river. The pact allowed Tamil Nadu to expand its agricultural area by 11 lakh acres from the existing 16 lakh acres. On the insistence of Tamil Nadu, the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) was formed in 1990 by the Union government. The Cauvery at Mekedatu (Wikimedia Commons) The Cauvery at Mekedatu (Wikimedia Commons)The Mekedatu dam project is located in Ramanagaram district, about 100 km south of Bengaluru, close to where the Cauvery enters Tamil Nadu.