Shivani Thakur
Published on: June 8, 2022, at 19:40 IST
The Tamil Nadu government filed a petition with the Supreme Court, requesting that the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) not debate Karnataka’s Mekedatu project at its meeting on June 17 in Delhi.
The state administration claimed in a petition that the CWMA lacked the authority to debate the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir-cum-Drinking Water Project across the Cauvery River.
Tamil Nadu’s Water Resources Minister Durai Murugan said in a statement, “We have moved the Supreme Court today (June 7) seeking a direction to the CWMA that it should not allow discussion on Mekedatu which is beyond its brief… At the 16th meeting (of CWMA scheduled for June 17), the Tamil Nadu Representative will strongly oppose this and point out that this subject is beyond the jurisdiction of the CWMA,”
“When the Karnataka government allotted ₹1,000 crore for the project, the Tamil Nadu assembly passed a unanimous resolution opposing the move and sent it to the central government,” Murugan said.
According to Minister Murugan, the Tamil Nadu government has written to the CWMA, requesting that the Mekedatu problem be removed from the agenda because the agency has “no authorities to discuss the issue.”
The project will impound and divert uncontrolled flows from the intermediate catchment below the Krishnaraja Sagar and Kabini reservoirs, as well as Billigundulu, which is a common border between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, according to Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu, as the lower riparian state, also claims that going ahead without Karnataka’s consent violates federalist principles.
Karnataka claims that the project will not harm Tamil Nadu’s farmers and that flow will be regulated in accordance with Tribunal and Supreme Court Directives.