Mekedatu: What did Congress do when in power?, Bommai asks

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday slammed the Congress for its planned padayatra demanding speedy implementation of the Mekedatu project.

The Congress has announced that it will take out a 100-km padayatra in the first week of December.

“What did the Congress do when it was in power,” Bommai asked, in a statement.

The project, first proposed in 2013, envisages a balancing reservoir across Cauvery river at Mekedatu to cater to the drinking water needs of the Bengaluru metropolitan region. Tamil Nadu has opposed this project.

“It’s not right to mount pressure on us in the name of a padayatra. The Congress took years to prepare a detailed project report. Why didn’t they expedite the process and implement the project?” Bommai said.

The Mekedatu project is now before the court, Bommai said, adding that the government is fighting the case legally. “We need the Central Water Commission’s nod for the project. We are honestly trying to get it. We’re confident that the permission will come. And, as soon as that happens, we will make an honest effort to implement the project,” he said.

Earlier in the day, JD(S) supremo and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda said the Congress was taking out the padayatra to claim credit for the project’s implementation.

Also, Rural Development & Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister KS Eshwarappa wondered why the Congress remembered the Mekedatu project now. "The Mekedatu project is the desire of every citizen of Karnataka. We have decided to implement the project in accordance with law and will do it,” he said, hitting out at the Congress for trying to politicize the issue.