Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], November 7 (ANI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and be certain that no statutory or administrative clearances are granted to Karnataka’s proposed Mekedatu dam undertaking with out the consent of co-basin states, expressing concern over a reported web site inspection performed by Union authorities officers on the proposed undertaking web site.
In a letter dated November 6, addressed to the Prime Minister, CM Vijay raised issues over the potential influence of the proposed 67.16 TMC reservoir throughout the Cauvery River, stating that it may have an effect on the water stream and month-to-month deliveries to Tamil Nadu as stipulated by the Supreme Court.
‘I’m scripting this letter to convey to your rapid private consideration a problem of paramount significance, in regards to the sustained water availability within the Cauvery basin of Tamil Nadu and the apprehension rising amongst our farming group over the latest developments, with regard to the proposed Mekedatu Dam Project of Karnataka,’ Vijay wrote.
‘The stated proposal of the Government of Karnataka to assemble the Mekedatu reservoir throughout Cauvery with an enormous capability of 67.16 TMC, simply upstream of the inter-state border between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, wouldn’t solely stop the flows because of Tamil Nadu but in addition prejudicially have an effect on the month-to-month deliveries to the inhabitants of Cauvery Basin of Tamil Nadu, as stipulated by the Hon’ble Supreme Court,’ he added.
Expressing concern over experiences of conferences between the Karnataka Chief Minister and officers of the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change concerning clearance of the Detailed Project Report (DPR), Vijay stated such developments had stored Tamil Nadu’s farmers in a state of ‘perpetual anxiousness’.
He additionally referred to experiences of a workforce of Union authorities officers visiting the proposed dam web site, saying farmers in Tamil Nadu considered the event as a sign of motion on a undertaking that might jeopardise their livelihoods.
‘The anxious farmers of Tamil Nadu view the location go to as a sign of tacit motion on a undertaking that will jeopardise their very livelihood,’ he stated.
Vijay additional identified that farmers within the Cauvery Delta have been already going through difficulties in the course of the deficit water yr 2026-27, alleging that Karnataka had failed to make sure Tamil Nadu’s due share of water even on a pro-rata foundation.
Referring to his earlier letter dated July 28, the Chief Minister reiterated that no statutory or administrative approval ought to be granted to the undertaking until it was demonstrably per the ultimate award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) and the Supreme Court’s judgment.
He additionally highlighted the authorized and legislative steps taken by Tamil Nadu, together with an software filed earlier than the National Green Tribunal on May 27, searching for to restrain the Environment Ministry from granting permissions pending decision of inter-State points.
Further, he stated the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly had unanimously handed a decision on June 19, reiterating that no clearance ought to be given to Karnataka or its businesses by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
Vijay additionally referred to a writ petition filed by Tamil Nadu within the Supreme Court on August 3, difficult the rules issued by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in December 2025 for the preparation of DPRs for irrigation and multi-purpose tasks within the Cauvery basin. The matter is pending earlier than the apex court docket.
‘It is important that the rights of decrease riparian States concerning each the quantum and controlled sample of month-to-month releases stay totally protected,’ he stated, including that consideration of the Mekedatu DPR and unilateral technical evaluations or web site inspections by central businesses at this stage have been ‘extremely inappropriate’.
Seeking the Prime Minister’s rapid intervention, Vijay urged the Union authorities to direct the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Environment Ministry to chorus from conducting web site inspections, technical evaluations or granting statutory and administrative clearances to the undertaking with out the consent of decrease riparian states.
He additionally sought deferral of any additional administrative or technical motion arising from the reported web site inspection and urged the Prime Minister to advise the Karnataka authorities in opposition to continuing with the undertaking with out the consent of co-basin states.
The Mekedatu multi-purpose balancing reservoir undertaking has been a long-standing proposal of the Karnataka authorities, primarily geared toward assembly Bengaluru’s ingesting water necessities and producing hydroelectric energy. However, the undertaking has confronted opposition from downstream Tamil Nadu over issues concerning its influence on Cauvery water availability.
The two states have been at loggerheads over the sharing of Cauvery River water, with Tamil Nadu constantly opposing the proposed reservoir. (ANI)