CHENNAI: Countering Karnataka Law Minister Basavaraj Bommai who asserted that his State would go ahead with the Mekedatu project and use all its might to get clearances for the dam, Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Durai Murugan said: “If the Karnataka minister can say that they would definitely build a dam that is against the verdicts of the Cauvery Tribunal and the Supreme Court, Tamil Nadu too have the right to assert that it would definitely stall that project through legal means.”
Durai Murugan, in a statement here, said that the Karnataka minister had said that his State need not get approval from any one for constructing a dam at Mekedatu. “But, the Supreme Court has given clear directives on the quantity of water to be released to Tamil Nadu from specific sources in Karnataka. Taking steps to build a dam that would prevent the water flowing towards Tamil Nadu amounts to ignoring the SC directive,” he pointed out.
“It is not good for the Centre to be a mere spectator to such tendencies growing in Karnataka. Also, such assertions will not be appropriate for the ties with the neighbouring State,” Durai Murugan added. He wondered whether the Karnataka minister have come across verdicts of the Cauvery water tribunal and the Supreme Court that no State can claim complete ownership over the water flowing in a river since river water is a national asset.