State’s Mekedatu project in the eye of a renewed Tamil Nadu storm

Soumik Dutta NT

Bengaluru: Proposed to come up at the confluence of River Cauvery with its tributary Arkavathi (90 km from Bengaluru), just ahead of Mekedatu, and about a kilometre from the Tamil Nadu border, is the controversial 400 MW Mekedatu Dam, being constructed by the Government of Karnataka.

The dam is being built at a cost of ? 9,000 crore and is expected to have a capacity of about 66 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of water and would also generate 400mw of hydroelectric power. Besides, it is also expected to irrigate the parched lands in some districts of the Old Mysuru region. The project is expected to benefit a population of about 2.5 crore in 10 districts besides bringing down pressure on other reservoirs in the Cauvery basin.

Currently, only 30 per cent of Bengaluru is receiving Cauvery water. The Tamil Nadu government is vehemently opposing the proposed Mekedatu project across river Cauvery by the Karnataka government, citing the Supreme Court judgement on the rights of the lower riparian states.

The opposition assumed renewed vigour ever since Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar asked Tamil Nadu to cooperate, not oppose, as he said the project would actually benefit both states. The Cauvery Delta region, known as the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu, could end up facing a shortage of water for cultivation, dealing a severe blow to the farmers of at least eight districts, if the project takes off, is the apprehension of Tamil Nadu.

In May 2022, the Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta had said in his legal opinion on the Mekedatu issue to the Union Jal Shakti Ministry, that the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) was constituted to give effect to the Tribunal award as modified by the Supreme Court. He added that the CWMA has to decide whether the Mekedatu Reservoir project was in conformity with the award, or not. Interestingly, the Centre has been non-committal on its stand on the Mekedatu reservoir project.

Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha in August last year, had evaded a direct answer to a question by Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram MP D Ravikumar. It may be added here that the Karnataka government had submitted a feasibility report of the Mekedatu project to the Central Water Commission (CWC) seeking an in-principle clearance to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR).

The in-principle approval was given subject to conditions like acceptance of the CWMA as a prerequisite for DPR consideration by the advisory committee of the Union Water Resources, River Development Ganga Rejuvenation Ministry (MoWR, RD&GR). Interestingly, even in the 16th meeting of the CWMA held in July 2022, the legal advice of the Union Law and Justice Ministry, though communicated to the CWMA, the Mekedatu project did not figure in the discussions. No consensus could be obtained amongst the stakeholders.

From history annals

The ‘Kallanai’ or ‘Grand Anicut’ was built in the Thanjavur district during the second century by the Chola kings for redirecting water from the Cauvery River to the delta regions for cultivation. The Kallanai was re-modelled twice in the 19th century to further increase cultivable land in the region.

Legal hitches

The formation of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) was preceded by a two-decade-long legal battle. The 2007 interim award of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal (CWDT) required Karnataka to release 192tmcft of water to TN in 10 monthly instalments every year. But in 2018, the SC ordered the allocation of 177.25tmcft water for Tamil Nadu.

The allocation was reduced, considering the increase in demand for agriculture and drinking water needs of Bengaluru city and neighbouring districts. The orders on the release of water allocation to Tamil Nadu have witnessed violence in Karnataka on multiple occasions. Police firing killed one person in 2016, while in 2018 witnessed sporadic violence across the state including Bengaluru.

The 2018 order has instructed the setting up of a Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRA). However, it is not just politics and agricultural issues that are tied to the Mekedatu project.

There is also the critical environmental angle with environmental activists pointing out that the proposed dam would inundate parts of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and also affect the Bannerghatta National Park and Chamarajanagar forests.