BENGALURU: The state government has decided to pass a resolution in both Houses of the legislature, condemning the resolution passed on Monday by the Tamil Nadu Assembly against the Mekedatu reservoir project.In the Assembly, members from all parties condemned the Tamil Nadu decision and urged the state government to pass the resolution condemning it on Wednesday after consulting legal experts, said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah said that let any party, including their own, be against the Mekedatu project in Tamil Nadu, but it is needed for people’s welfare in Karnataka.Former chief minister BS Yediyurappa said there could be several differences between parties in the Assembly, but when it comes to land and water, they are all united.
Bommai said that whenever Karnataka takes up a project related to Cauvery, Tamil Nadu has the habit of opposing it. “Tamil Nadu is utilising additional water which is not their share and taking up the reservoir work down south without permission. We will pass the resolution against this as well,” the Chief Minister said.
“We will discuss it with legal experts and pass the resolution on Wednesday in both Houses. We are committed to implementing the project. We do not need other state’s permission to provide drinking water to Bengaluru,” Bommai added.Earlier, he said the Tamil Nadu resolution has no value as it is not in accordance with law. “It is just a political trick. There have been many such resolutions,” he added.
In the Assembly, Law Minister JC Madhuswamy said that though the Cauvery final order came a few years ago, the Tamil Nadu government wants to keep the issue alive. “It should not see our silence as a weakness. We are going to give them a befitting reply. Mekedatu is not an irrigation project and we are not using TN’s share of water,’’ he added.
Raising the issue during zero hour, members from all parties condemned the Tamil Nadu move. Siddaramaiah said that as per the tribunal order, Karnataka is releasing 177.25 tmcft of Cauvery water during normal years. “We are using surplus water that too for drinking purposes and generating power. In the last seven years, Karnataka has released 582 tmcft of excess water to Tamil Nadu. We should also put pressure on the Union government to give the environment clearance to the Mekedatu project,” he added.
Yediyurappa said Karnataka is not at the mercy of Tamil Nadu to construct the project. “By passing such a resolution, Tamil Nadu is trying to snatch our rights and this is not for the first time they are doing it. Bommai has already conveyed a message to Union Jalshakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat about Mekedatu. If needed, he will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he added. Former chief minister and JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy too condemned the TN resolution.