Total land of 5,173 hectares to be submerged for Mekedatu project: Karnataka to Centre

New Delhi: Karnataka has informed the Centre that a total of 5,173 hectares of land would be submerged under the Mekedatu project.

In its fresh proposal submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Forests seeking environmental clearance, the state government has stated that it plans to construct a balancing reservoir across the Cauvery River at Mekedatu with a storage capacity of 67.17 tmc feet.

The proposed reservoir would be built approximately 2 km downstream from the confluence of the Cauvery and Arkavathi rivers, the state government said.

"There is no suitable gorge location for water storage either upstream or downstream of the present site within the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, hence, this location has been found feasible to store 67.16 TMC of water. Upon implementation, the storage location will also be useful in meeting the drinking water needs of wildlife during the lean season," the state government added.

Furthermore, the construction of the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir cum Drinking Water Project would enable the utilization of the available head (drop) from the dam, combined with the natural bed slope of the river from the project site to the nearby state border, to generate power from the monthly releases made to Tamil Nadu in a normal year.

Upon successful implementation, this project will ensure that the downstream commitment of releasing 177.25 TMC (which includes 10 TMC towards environmental flow) to Tamil Nadu—as per the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) Award, further modified by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in its judgment dated 16 February 2018—is met, the state informed the Centre.

It will also address the drinking water needs of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region and surrounding areas, while generating power from the monthly releases affected in accordance with the award, the proposal said.