Union govt says it has not approved Mekedatu project

The Centre on Monday clarified that it has not given any approval for the controversial Mekedatu project.

After receiving a memorandum from Tamil Nadu, Central Water Commission ( CWC) Chairman Masood Husain said the CWC has just asked Karnataka to submit a detailed project report (DPR) on the project. However, the CWC has not permitted to Karnataka to construct a balancing reservoir on Cauvery river, he said.

“Once Karnataka submits its DPR to the commission, it will be placed before the Cauvery River Water Management Authority. Whatever the decision on the project will be taken in the authority, we will take unanimous decision,” Husain said.

Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu PWD Principal Secretary S K Prabhakaran submitted a memorandum to the CWC saying that the commission should have discussed with Tamil Nadu before asking Karnataka to prepare DPR.

In the Cauvery River Water Management Authority meeting held here on Monday also, Tamil Nadu lodged its protest saying that the project will deny Tamil Nadu’s share in Cauvery river water.

Recently, the CWC, nodal agency under the Union Ministry of Water Resources, while clearing Karnataka’s pre-feasibility report on the Mekedatu project, asked the state to prepare DPR.

The Karnataka government planned to build a balancing reservoir at Mekedatu on Cauvery river near Kanakapura in Ramanagara district. This project, which will have the investment of around Rs 5,912 crore, proposes to store 66 tmcft of excess water generated in the Cauvery basin and produce 400 MW of electricity.

It also plans to utilise 16 tmcft from the reservoir to provide drinking water to Ramanagara, Kanakapura and some towns in Bengaluru Rural district. However, Tamil Nadu has been opposing the project saying that it violates the Supreme Court order on Cauvery Water sharing between river basin states.