Don’t need consent from Tamil Nadu for Mekedatu dam, says Karnataka

CHENNAI: The controversial plan for a dam at Mekedatu across the river Cauvery rocked the nation’s capital on Saturday, with chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami urging the Centre to withdraw the permission given by the Central Water Commission to Karnataka government to prepare a detailed project report for the Rs 5,912-crore project and his Karnataka counterpart H D Kumaraswamy seeking early nod for the project report submitted by the state in January.
Both chief ministers called on Union water resources minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat separately and presented their case. In his representation, Kumaraswamy said the Mekedatu project was located within the territorial limits of Karnataka and the award of the tribunal, later modified by the Supreme Court, did not restrict or prohibit the state from constructing dams or other structures for utilising its share of water, and thus the state was at liberty to construct the dam in the Cauvery basin.
Karnataka plans to implement the Mekedatu balancing reservoir-cum drinking water project with a storage capacity of 67tmcft — just ahead of the inter-state border. In a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Palaniswami, however, requested him to direct Karnataka not to take up any construction activity in the Cauvery basin without the prior consent of the Tamil Nadu government. “I don’t know what he (Kumaraswamy) had spoken. We have represented our case. We have asked the Union water resources minister to withdraw the permission given to Karnataka to prepare Mekedatu dam. A case is also pending in the court,” Palaniswami told reporters in New Delhi, emerging from the fifth governing council meeting of Niti Aayog. With regard to the stand of Tamil Nadu that the Central Water Commission ought to have advised Karnataka to get its concurrence and also that of other co-basin states, Kumaraswamy is said to have told the Union minister that there is no law, rule or order, which mandates the state of Karnataka to get the concurrence of Tamil Nadu and therefore the Central government was well within its rights to grant its approval. Kumaraswamy had said the project envisaged to utilise the 4.75tmcft of water additionally allotted by SC to cater to the drinking water needs of Bengaluru city and generate 400MW of power.
Interestingly, after Tamil Nadu strongly raised objections to the inclusion of the subject - discussion on the detailed project report of the Mekedatu balancing reservoir project submitted by Karnataka - in the agenda, the Cauvery water management authority deferred the subject during its meeting in New Delhi last month. The authority, however, unanimously resolved to direct Karnataka government to release 9.19tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu for the month of June. But the state has released only 1.16tmcft in the first ten days. “After setting up the authority, we cannot expect them (Centre) to respond to our demand to release water. The authority has to ensure that our due share is released as per the SC order. We expect them (Karnataka) to release it based on the authority order,” Palaniswami said.