Tamil Nadu team to meet Jal Shakti Minister on Mekedatu project: CM Stalin

Terming as “shocking and illegal” the decision of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to discuss Karnataka’s Mekedatu Dam issue in its meeting, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday asserted that the state will not allow construction of a dam across Cauvery and will fight against the project in the Supreme Court.

Stalin also said a delegation of legislative party leaders headed by Water Resources Minister Durai Murugan will “very soon” meet Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to explain the pain that the statement of CWMA chairman S K Haldar has caused to farmers and people of Tamil Nadu.

After inspecting the Grand Anaicut in Thanjavur district on Friday, Haldar had said the CWMA has the rights to discuss the Mekedatu issue in its meeting despite objections from Tamil Nadu. Referring to Haldar’s statement, Stalin wondered whether the CWMA has the scope to decide on the issue.

Also Read: Mekedatu concerns farmers’ livelihood: Tamil Nadu tells Bommai

“When there is a case in this regard (Mekedatu) in the Supreme Court, the CWMA has no rights to discuss the topic. Despite knowing this, the chairman saying he will discuss the issue is illegal,” Stalin said in a statement.

Pointing to his Karnataka counterpart Basavaraj Bommai’s statement that he was in Delhi to “exert pressure” on the Union Government on Mekedatu, Stalin said the Centre should not “bow down” to the “pressure” and expressed the hope that the BJP government will uphold federal principles.

“We will not allow a reservoir to be built across River Cauvery. The CWMA holding discussions regarding construction of a dam (in Mekedatu) is wrong. The Tamil Nadu government’s legal fight in the Supreme Court will continue. The government will continue to fight for its rights over Cauvery,” Stalin said.

The government has also moved the apex court seeking direction to the CWMA not to discuss the Mekedatu issue at Karnataka’s insistence. Stalin also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention in “desisting” the CWMA from taking up for discussion the Mekedatu project .

Tamil Nadu maintains that Mekedatu was “beyond the scope” of the CWMA and allowing a discussion on the DPR is an “attempt to subvert” an earlier verdict of the Supreme Court.

Tamil Nadu has been opposing the project contending that construction of a new reservoir across Cauvery is against the 2007 final award by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) and the 2018 verdict by the Supreme Court.

The state government argues that water flow 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.