Bengaluru
Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that the Center can intervene in crucial issues (Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir project) only if both states (Tamil Nadu and Karnataka) resolve their differences on the project.
“The center will have to be impartial and do justice to all the stakeholders. We work with that principle. In such projects, it is a set principle that the consent of co-basin states will have to be obtained. Both states will have to find a way to resolve the issue. The decision has to be taken with the consensus of all the states,” he said.
Ever since the project is announced, Tamil Nadu is opposed to the Mekedatu dam, holding the view that the project would “impound and divert” the uncontrolled water flow due to Tamil Nadu from Kabini sub-basin, the catchment area below Krishnarajasagara, and also from Simsha, Arkavathy and Suvarnavathi sub-basins besides other small streams.
But, on its part Karnataka has been contending the project would benefit both states as the surplus water stored can be managed between the two during distress years, and its implementation will in no way affect the interests of the farming communities of Tamil Nadu.
After several rounds of war of words between both states, Tamil Nadu approached the Supreme Court seeking rejection of a Detailed Project Report for the Mekedatu dam proposal submitted by the state to the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).
“I know that Karnataka has announced this project in its budget and even allocated funds too. Despite this, the issue did not come up in the meeting,” he said.
The Mekedatu Project is a Rs 9,000 crore project aimed to store and supply water for drinking purposes for the Bengaluru city. Around 400 megawatts (MW) of power is also proposed to be generated through the project. It was first approved by the Karnataka state government in 2017. It received approval from the erstwhile Ministry of Water Resources for the detailed project report and is awaiting approval from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) too.
