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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Tuesday called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to step in and halt Karnataka from proceeding with the proposed Mekedatu Reservoir Project across the Cauvery River, contending that the initiative violates the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling as well as the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) award.
The appeal comes shortly after the Congress-led Karnataka government renewed its push for the construction of the Mekedatu dam on the Cauvery River, a project that has consistently faced stiff resistance from Tamil Nadu.
In a comprehensive letter addressed to the Prime Minister, Vijay expressed serious concern over Karnataka’s recent announcement of conducting a “Bhoomi Puja” for the Mekedatu dam project, stating that the move has caused widespread apprehension among farmers in Tamil Nadu who rely heavily on Cauvery waters for irrigation and their livelihoods.
In his letter, Vijay maintained that the Mekedatu project was never part of the CWDT Final Award of 2007, which was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court in its landmark verdict delivered on February 16, 2018. He underscored that the Cauvery basin has already been designated as a water-deficient basin and that the available water resources have been fully apportioned among the riparian states, leaving no scope for any fresh storage or diversion schemes.
“You may be well aware that a solution to the sensitive Cauvery water dispute was obtained after a long legal battle, lasting about three decades, and the Judgment dated February 16, 2018, is under implementation. Mekedatu Project is not in the list of projects permitted by the Tribunal, which has been affirmed by the above-mentioned Judgment,” Vijay stated in his letter.
He further asserted that the proposed reservoir, which is planned with a storage capacity of 67.16 TMC near the Tamil Nadu border, has the potential to impede the natural flow of water that Tamil Nadu is legally entitled to receive under the tribunal’s final award and the Supreme Court’s verdict.
The Chief Minister also referred to the Supreme Court’s observation that upper riparian states should refrain from undertaking any action that could affect the scheduled release of water to lower riparian states, alleging that Karnataka’s move to advance the project amounts to a direct breach of the court’s ruling.
Vijay also pointed out that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) had earlier refused to grant Terms of Reference (ToR) for an Environmental Impact Assessment for the project due to the unresolved inter-state dispute surrounding it. He questioned why Karnataka’s proposal was still being considered by the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Central Water Commission (CWC) despite Tamil Nadu’s strong objections.
Seeking urgent intervention from the Centre, Vijay urged the Prime Minister to direct the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the CWC to reject the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Mekedatu project and advise Karnataka against taking up any new project on the Cauvery without first obtaining the concurrence of co-basin states.
“Under this circumstance, I request you to instruct the concerned officers in the Ministry of Jal Shakti, as well in the Central Water Commission (CWC) to reject the DPR of Mekedatu project proposal… and also advise the Government of Karnataka not to take up any new project without getting the concurrence of co-basin States,” he said.
The Cauvery River water-sharing dispute has remained a long-standing and contentious issue involving Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, and Puducherry. The proposed Mekedatu dam has now emerged as yet another flashpoint in the decades-old conflict between the neighbouring southern states, with Tamil Nadu expressing fears that the project could adversely impact its rightful share of Cauvery waters, which are crucial for agriculture and farmers in the delta region.
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