Mekedatu project report to be submitted Centre in 10 days, says Deputy CM D K Shivakumar

Shivakumar said Karnataka is supposed to release 177.25 tmcft of the River Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu during one water year from June to May.

Mysuru: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the much-awaited Mekedatu reservoir project will be submitted to the central government in 10 days, and Union ministers from Karnataka should get it approved.

“If they have commitment, Union Ministers H D Kumarswamy, Shobha Karandlaje, and Opposition Leader R Ashoka should cooperate with the state government to implement the project,” he said.  He said this after laying the foundation stone and launching several development projects with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah here. 

Shivakumar, who also holds the water resources portfolio, said Karnataka is supposed to release 177.25 tmcft of the River Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu during one water year from June to May, as per the final verdict of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal. But, in the absence of a balancing reservoir downstream, excess water has been reaching Biligundlu whenever Karnataka receives copious rainfall, he added. 

In the past two years alone, 305.61 tmcft (128.36 tmcft excess) of water reached Tamil Nadu during June 2024 to May 2025; 667.24 tmc t (489.99 tmcft excess) reached the neighbouring state during June 2022 to May 2023, he said. 

“The Mekedatu dam can store 60 tmcft of water, which will help to meet the irrigation and drinking water needs of the region. It will also help to release water to Tamil Nadu as per the quota, even during the years when there is deficit rainfall,” Cauvery Neeravari Nigam officials said. 

The Congress party had taken out ‘Namma Neeru Namma Hakku’ foot march demanding the implementation of the Mekedatu project in 2022. Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda has been a strong proponent of the project for a couple of decades.