Karnataka is planning a dam across the Cauvery at Mekedatu to meet Bengaluru’s drinking water needs.
| Photo Credit: B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM
The Union government, on Thursday in the Lok Sabha, reiterated the reply on the issue of Mekedatu dam it gave early this week in the Rajya Sabha.
Replying to the question posed by the DMK’s MP Dayanidhi Maran on the impact of the dam project in Tamil Nadu, the Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary informed the Lower House that in the Supreme Court judgment of February 2018 on the Cauvery dispute, “there is no mention that State of Karnataka has to obtain the consent of the other riparian States namely Tamil Nadu, Kerala and UT [Union Territory] of Puducherry to construct any kind of structure across the river Cauvery.” To this effect, the Court had cited the relevant clause in the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.
The Union government had taken note of the representations received from the Tamil Nadu government and farmers’ organisations expressing concerns regarding the possible impact of the proposed project on the Cauvery delta, including drinking water availability in other districts, Mr. Choudhary pointed out.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay had earlier taken exception to the Union Minister’s reply in the Rajya Sabha and shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to have the reply withdrawn. In his letter written on Tuesday, Mr. Vijay argued the project could not be evaluated “merely as an engineering proposal.” Quoting the same clause, he contended any project that had the potential to affect the regulated flow regime established under the Award necessarily required scrutiny for consistency with the award. In another clause, the award “specifically prohibits” any upper riparian State from taking action affecting scheduled deliveries to lower riparian States, Mr. Vijay added.
Published – July 31, 2026 12:57 am IST
