The ban on cultivating waterintensive crop of paddy is all set to continue into the 2018-19 fiscal, despite opposition from Cauvery basin farmers and now-favourable water levels in four dams across the region. While the agriculture department toes the official line of the situation being fluid and opening up the Cauvery reservoir gates for water-intensive crops will create uncertainty in the near future, sources in the department said the basin has gone beyond the permissible limits of cultivating paddy. It would create water shortage and possibly heighten the Cauvery water dispute with Tamil Nadu. Cauvery water dispute tribunal has permitted Karnataka to irrigate 18.85 lakh acres for both kharif and rabi seasons in any given year, with an estimated water requirement of 250.62 tmcft. During a rather normal year like 2015-16, the basin has seen nearly 28.41 lakh acres being cultivated for paddy and sugarcane alone. This year, despite Karnataka on the averge of being declared a drought year and for paddy , the acreage as on July 31 was 8.7 lakh acres.