BENGALURU: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said that an all-party meeting will be convened next week to discuss the Mekedatu project. He also expressed confidence in getting the necessary environmental clearance from the authorities concerned.
Speaking in the Assembly, the CM said, “I will invite legal experts and leaders from all parties. We will take their opinion and suggestions and work accordingly.’’ He also said that he is personally tracking the issue of environment clearance for the project, “It is before the Union Environment ministry.
We have urged them to clear it and I will get it done during my visit to Delhi. Once that is done, we will have to get the Detailed Project Report approved. The case before the Green Tribunal, which was quashed, is now before the Supreme Court,” he added.
Bommai said he has already spoken to legal experts twice. “Our stand is clear. Our responsibility is to give water allocated to Tamil Nadu, which we release. We need to discuss about the remaining quantum of water and start the project work at the earliest.” Opposition leader Siddaramaiah said Tamil Nadu is politicising the issue and added that it has no right to stop the project.
TN has no locus standi on how K’taka uses its water, says Siddu
“Both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been allotted their share of Cauvery water. They have no locus standi on how we utilise our share of water. Over the last seven years, 582 tmcft of excess water has been released to Tamil Nadu apart from the 177.75 tmcft which is released annually as per the final adjudication.
We want the Mekedatu reservoir to utilise this additional water,’’ Opposition leader in the Assembly Siddaramaiah said. Law and Parliamentary Minister J C Madhuswamy, recalled a The New Indian Express report on Union Jal Shakthi minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat’s statement that the Centre can’t solve the Mekedatu row as water is a state subject. “We can only facilitate talks and we are ready to do that,” Shekhawat had said. Irked by this, Siddaramaiah demanded the CM to condemn Shekhawat’s statement.