CHENNAI: Dropping another bomb on Tamil Nadu, the Union government has set Karnataka's controversial Mekedatu balancing reservoir-cum-drinking water project in motion. The Central Water Commission (CWC) has accepted the pre-feasibility report (PFR) of the project and allowed Cauvery Neeravari Nigam, Bengaluru, to go ahead and prepare the detailed project report (DPR), thereby drawing sharp criticism from the Tamil Nadu government.
Reliable sources told the Express that the Mekedatu dam project was being considered by Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) in its meeting scheduled on December 3 before which the Tamil Nadu government is likely to take legal recourse.
Before approving the PFR, CWC director N Mukherjee had written to Secretary of CWMA seeking views for which no objections were raised. In the letter, Mukherjee said Mekedatu dam PFR under
examination was mainly for implementing the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) award as modified by the Supreme Court on February 18, 2018, without any irrigation component, hence Guidelines for Submission, Appraisal and Acceptance of Irrigation and Multipurpose projects, 2017, are not applicable.
As per the above said guidelines, copy of the PFR will have to be circulated to the co-basin states by the project authority to get views/observations on the project proposal. However, Syed Masood Husain, chairman of CWC as well as CWMA, has downplayed the controversy and said acceptance of the PFR does not mean clearance for construction of the project has been given.
"Approval has been given only for the preparation of DPR, which need to be concurred by the CWMA. Until, DPR is submitted we do not know what is the proposal," he said.
G Umapathy, Tamil Nadu counsel in Supreme Court, told the Express that CWC has gone out of the way to aid Karnataka.
"Though the project is still in the infancy stage, approval for preparation of DPR should not have been given without holding consultation with lower riparian state (Tamil Nadu). Legal options are being
explored," he said.
On other hand, Mohan Katarki, Karnataka counsel in Supreme Court, argued that the Mekedatu project falls within the territorial limits of Karnataka and therefore, there were no legal impediments for
Karnataka in constructing the project.
"Tamil Nadu cannot object to Mekedatu as long as there is no obstruction to the delivery of 177.25 tmc of water at the inter-state border in a normal year," he told Express. Meanwhile, CWC said the Mekedatu project should be approved by Central Electricity Authority (CEA) as it involves generation of 400 MW of power. The total project costs an estimated Rs 5,912 cr. As per the Electricity Act, 2003, and the notification by Ministry of Power, projects costing more than Rs 2,500 crore need
to be concurred by CEA.
S Janakarajan, president of South Asia Consortium of Inter-Disciplinary Water Studies (SaciWATERs), said the Mekedatu project would spell disaster for Tamil Nadu and upkeep of Cauvery river in general.
"Cauvery river is already in great distress due to reduced inflow and construction of any hard structure will obstruct the free flow and lead to delta subsidence in Tamil Nadu."