Tamil Nadu government told the Supreme Court that the proposed construction of Mekedatu reservoir in the Cauvery river by Karnataka is an attempt to impound the uncontrolled flows in the intermediate catchment areas and violates the decisions of the Supreme Court and the Cauvery Tribunal. Karnataka has submitted the Detailed Project Report (DPR) on the Mekedatu Dam project to the Centre. The DPR will now be brought before the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA). If approved, it will then be taken to the Advisory Committee of the Union Ministry of Water Resources to further determine if and how the project will be implemented.
In-principle approval was given to Karnataka in November 2018 for preparation of the DPR, with the condition that the State must share the information with other riparian States Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Kerala. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted four weeks time to Tamil Nadu and other Cauvery basin states respond to the detailed project report prepared by the Karnataka government for the Mekedatu reservoir project.
The apex court allowed a plea by the Tamil Nadu government which sought the time to study the detailed project report given by the Karnataka government to the Central Water Commission. The court granted permission to Kerala and Puducherry to file their response.
