Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin to chair an all-party meeting on Mekedatu on July 12

With Karnataka insisting that it will go ahead with the construction of a reservoir in Mekedatu, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin will on Monday chair an all-party meeting to discuss the situation and the state’s future course of action on the raging issue.

Stalin will meet leaders of political parties that have representation in the Tamil Nadu Assembly at the Secretariat on Monday morning to elicit their views and suggestions on Karnataka’s “unilateral decision” to construct a reservoir across river Cauvery in Mekedatu.

The meeting comes a week after Water Resources Minister Durai Murugan submitted a detailed memorandum to Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat opposing the construction of the dam and demanding that the Centre direct Karnataka to drop the project immediately.

Read more: Prepare action plan for Mekedatu project, CM Yediyurappa tells officials

During the meeting, Stalin is expected to brief the political parties of the efforts being taken by the government to stop Karnataka from going ahead with the project. The Chief Minister will also seek suggestions and ideas from political parties and the meeting is likely to pass a resolution condemning Karnataka’s “unilateral decision.”

During the meeting, the political parties are expected to ask the government not to budge from its stand that no construction across the River Cauvery can take place without Tamil Nadu’s permission. Parties like the AIADMK will demand that Stalin lead an all-party delegation to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue.

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 Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa announced that the state will go ahead with the project come what may. He also wrote to his Tamil Nadu counterpart Stalin asking him not to oppose the construction of the dam.

In his reply, Stalin said the proposed reservoir would “definitely jeopardize” the availability of water to Tamil Nadu while contending that Karnataka’s logic to construct a major reservoir at Mekedatu, which is too far away from Bengaluru, aimed at fulfilling the drinking water needs of the state capital does not “sound valid.”

The construction of a reservoir in Mekedatu across River Cauvery is yet another source of friction between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. While Tamil Nadu says no reservoir can be built without its concurrence and that it is against the orders of the Supreme Court, Karnataka argues that the project is aimed at fulfilling the drinking water needs of Bengaluru.