New Delhi [India], July 28 (ANI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the proposed Mekedatu undertaking, urging the Centre to safeguard the pursuits of the decrease riparian states and be sure that any resolution on the undertaking is per the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) Award and the Supreme Court’s judgment on the Cauvery water dispute.
In the letter, Vijay referred to the reply given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti within the Rajya Sabha to an unstarred query on the Mekedatu undertaking, which said that the Supreme Court’s judgment dated February 16, 2018, doesn’t expressly stipulate that Karnataka ought to acquire the consent of the decrease riparian states earlier than developing a construction throughout the Cauvery River.
Describing the reply as ‘disappointing’, he stated it appeared to have been made with out taking into account the prevailing authorized place and settled regulation relating to the consent of decrease riparian states.
The Chief Minister cited the Constitution Bench judgment in State of Karnataka vs State of Andhra Pradesh regarding the Alamatti undertaking, stating that the Supreme Court had dominated that Karnataka couldn’t undertake such building with out the consent of the decrease riparian state, which is completely needed.
Referring to the CWDT Award, Vijay stated the Supreme Court had expressly affirmed Clause XVIII of the Tribunal Award, beneath which every state might regulate waters inside its territory solely in a way per the Tribunal’s instructions. He argued that any undertaking able to affecting the regulated circulate of the Cauvery should subsequently be examined for consistency with the Award.
He additional referred to the Tribunal’s observations within the case of Kerala’s Pambar Hydro-electric Project, the place, regardless of involving solely 0.1 TMC of consumptive use, the Tribunal directed Kerala and Tamil Nadu to collectively determine the schedule of water releases to make sure downstream irrigation was not adversely affected. According to Vijay, this demonstrated that the Tribunal connected significance not solely to annual water allocation but additionally to coordinated regulation of releases affecting decrease riparian pursuits.
The Chief Minister additionally referred to Clause XI of the Tribunal Award, which, he stated, prohibits any higher riparian state from taking motion affecting scheduled deliveries to downstream states besides by mutual settlement and session with the regulatory authority. He added that Clause XX recognises that any modification to the Award will be made solely by settlement among the many celebration states.
Vijay said that the proposed Mekedatu undertaking couldn’t be evaluated merely as an engineering proposal and stated its authorized permissibility should first be examined within the context of the CWDT Award, the Supreme Court’s February 16, 2018 judgment and the rights of the decrease riparian states. He additionally famous that the Detailed Project Report submitted by Karnataka in 2019 had been returned by the Central Water Commission for revision to make sure compliance with the Tribunal Award and relevant tips, which, he stated, demonstrated that such compliance remained an indispensable precondition.
In the letter, the Chief Minister requested the Centre to withdraw the reply given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti within the Rajya Sabha and be sure that no statutory or administrative approval is granted to the Mekedatu undertaking until it’s demonstrably per the CWDT Award and the Supreme Court judgment. He additionally urged the Centre to guard the rights of the decrease riparian states in relation to each the amount of water and the regulated sample of releases, and stated any future consideration of the undertaking needs to be undertaken solely after a complete technical and authorized examination making an allowance for the considerations of all decrease riparian states.
Calling the Cauvery ‘the lifeline of hundreds of thousands of farmers and residents throughout southern India,’ Vijay stated defending the integrity of the Tribunal Award and the Supreme Court judgment was important for sustaining confidence within the constitutional mechanism governing inter-state rivers.
He requested the Prime Minister’s intervention ‘within the bigger curiosity of justice, federal concord and devoted implementation of judicial choices.’ (ANI)