JOIN USChief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the State government will go ahead with Mekedatu dam project across Cauvery river at Karnataka-Tamil Nadu boundary at any cost.
Replying to a discussion on the budget proposals for 2015-16 in the Legislative Assembly, Siddaramaiah said Tamil Nadu government’s objection to the Mekedatu drinking water project was politically motived. “The recent bandh observed in Tamil Nadu over the issue is for political reasons. We have the right to utilise any additional water after providing 192 tmc ft to Tamil Nadu as per the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal Award. We will protect our right,” Siddaramaiah said.
The chief minister said the State had never indulged in politics on issues pertaining to drinking water projects. The State did not oppose when Andhra Pradesh decided to release five tmc ft of water from River Krishna to Chennai to meet its drinking water needs. The State did not oppose the Hogenakkal Integrated Drinking Water Project taken up by Tamil Nadu, he pointed out.
At the Legislative Council, Siddaramaiah said that the government in fact allocated Rs 25 crore in its budget towards the Mekedatu project. “There are no two words about the project. We will implement the Mekedatu project,” asserted the chief minister. Siddaramaiah said he will take an all party delegation to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and apprise him of the State’s stand.
He said there was no question of the government going back on the Yettinahole project. The government had earmarked Rs 1,500 crore for the project for the next financial year. MLAs from Kolar and Chikkaballapura had voiced their concern and even staged a protest in the Assembly last week pointing out the non-inclusion of the project in the budget.
DH News Service