CHENNAI: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay will move a resolution in the state Assembly on Friday, urging the union government not to grant any technical or environmental clearances for the Mekedatu dam project across River Cauvery and calling upon the Central Water Commission not to process or approve Karnataka’s detailed project report for this project.
Sources said the resolution will also oppose the Karnataka government’s unilateral proposal to construct the Mekedatu dam across the Cauvery, since it violates the Cauvery Tribunal’s final award and the Supreme Court’s judgment, and lacks the consent of basin States and approval of the union government. Post debate, the resolution is likely to be adopted unanimously, as it is one of the lifeline issues of the farmers in Tamil Nadu.
Over the years, both the AIADMK and DMK governments had adopted resolutions in the state Assembly against the Mekedatu project. On December 6, 2018, the AIADMK government convened a special session on the Mekedatu issue and then CM Edappadi K Palaniswami moved the resolution after the CWC permitted Karnataka to prepare a DPR for the Mekedatu project.
The resolution urged the union government to direct the CWC to withdraw the permission granted to Karnataka and asked that Karnataka be restrained from undertaking any work at Mekedatu without Tamil Nadu’s consent.
The DMK government led by the then CM M K Stalin adopted a unanimous resolution on March 21, 2022, opposing Karnataka’s move to build the dam Mekedatu. Meanwhile, Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar has said the state is ready to hold talks with Tamil Nadu on the Mekedatu balancing reservoir project at any time.