No scope for talks with Karnataka on Mekedatu: Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin

Stalin said PM Modi and Jal Shakti Minister have assured Tamil Nadu that Karnataka will not be allowed to proceed on the project

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday ruled out any talks with the Karnataka government over the proposed construction of a reservoir in Mekedatu across River Cauvery. Stalin said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Jal Shakti have assured Tamil Nadu that Karnataka will not be allowed to proceed on the project.

“No scope for talks (with Karnataka). Our Water Resources Minister (Durai Murugan) has made clear our stand (on talks),” Stalin told reporters at the Delhi airport. He was asked whether Tamil Nadu will participate in any discussion or talks on Mekedatu initiated by Karnataka.

Stalin’s comments come weeks after his Karnataka counterpart B S Yediyurappa wrote to him proposing a meeting to “clear any doubts” on the project.

Also read — Tamil Nadu's Cauvery delta region witnesses protests over Mekedatu

While replying to Yediyurappa’s letter, Stalin neither accepted nor rejected the offer for talks, but made it unequivocally clear that another reservoir across River Cauvery just before the water enters Tamil Nadu will interrupt the natural flow of water.

“There is no necessity,” was all Stalin said when asked the possibility of Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry sitting across the table to chalk out a joint strategy to oppose Karnataka’s plan to construct the reservoir in Mekedatu.

Tamil Nadu, a lower riparian state, has stepped up its efforts to nudge the Centre not to accord sanction for the project to Karnataka. After passing a resolution at an all-party meeting demanding that the Union government reject permission for the project, Durai Murugan led a delegation to Shekhawat last week to reiterate the state’s stand vis-à-vis Mekedatu.

“The Prime Minister has given us an assurance (on Mekedatu). Not just that, the Jal Shakti minister has also assured us (that the project will not be implemented). We are hopeful, and moreover, the issue is before the Supreme Court. We will face the issue legally,” Stalin added.

Tamil Nadu has been opposing the project contending that the construction of a new reservoir across Cauvery is against the final award by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) and the 2018 verdict by the Supreme Court. The state government argues that water flows from Karnataka into Tamil Nadu will get disrupted if a new reservoir is built in the neighbouring state.

While Karnataka says it does not need any permission for constructing the reservoir in Mekedatu, Tamil Nadu feels otherwise. The issue assumed centerstage after Yediyurappa announced that the state will go ahead with the project come what may.