Mekedatu project will be implemented: K'taka HM amid TN's objection

Karnataka Minister of Home Affairs Basavaraja Bommai said the Mekedatu dam project would be implemented without fail. Bommai expressed confidence that the Centre will support the state to implement the project.

Bengaluru: Amid the tussle between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the Mekedatu dam project, Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraja Bommai said that the Centre will have to give clearance to the project as per law. Bommai said "Tamilnadu government may have made a decision against the Mekedatu project. But this is our state's right. I am confident that the central government will provide justice to Karnataka for the implementation of the Mekedatu scheme. The project would be implemented completely."

Further, Bommai said, "A Comprehensive Plan Report has already been submitted to the Central Water Commission with regard to the Mekedatu project. It is a project to utilize additional Kaveri water for drinking purposes. Karnataka has all the rights to implement this scheme. There is no reason Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa-led government will stop the project." Bommai made the statement after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin held an all-party meeting to discuss the construction of Mekedatu dam over Cauvery river by Karnataka government.

Tamil Nadu's agenda is to fight Karnataka: Congress

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President DK Shivakumar said, "The tussle between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu has been going on for hundreds of years with regard to the Mekedatu project. The BJP government at the Center and in the state can stand together and solve this problem easily. We stand with the government, forgetting political differences. In Tamil Nadu, it is customary to oppose the Mekedatu scheme. Their agenda is to fight against Karnataka."

Responding to the comments of Bommai, Tamil Nadu Water Resource Durai Murugan said that the state has the right to take a legal course of action to stop Karnataka from constructing the Mekedatu dam. The Supreme Court has given direction on how much water and when is to be discharged to Tamil Nadu. Karnataka stating that they will construct the dam will be against the SC order, he added.

The dispute dates back to the British era when both the states signed agreements over water sharing. The agreement stated that Karnataka must get the consent of Tamil Nadu for constructing the dam. After independence, Karnataka objected to the agreement and demanded "equitable sharing of the waters". Later in 1990, a dispute tribunal was set up by the Centre in 1990. The tribunal's final verdict on February 5, 2007, notified by the Centre in 2013, stipulated "tentative monthly deliveries during a normal year" to be made available by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu. Further, an appeal was filed against the order in the Supreme Court. The February 2018 judgement revised the allocation of water and increased Karnataka's share by 14,75,000 million cubic feet at the cost of Tamil Nadu. The revised allocation catered to the drinking and domestic requirements of Bengaluru and surrounding areas.

As per reports, Tamil Nadu has been opposing the project as it would adversely affect the amount of water it gets, particularly from "uncontrolled catchments". The argument raised by Tamil Nadu is that the project will impound the river and divert its flow.