TN to object to Mekedatu dam talk at Cauvery meet on Sep 24

IANS

Chennai, 01 Sep 2021: The Tamil Nadu government will register strong objection against the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) taking up the Mekedatu dam issue in its 14th meeting scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 24.

 

In the 13th meeting of the CWMA which was held on Tuesday, the Tamil Nadu government had strongly objected against Mekedatu dam issue being taken up. The Tamil Nadu water resources minister, S. Duraimurugan in a strongly worded letter to the CWMA said that the matter was sub-judice and that it could not be taken up for discussion.

 

The CWMA chief, S.K. Halder had admitted before media persons on Tuesday that the Mekedatu dam issue was indeed an agenda in the CWMA meeting. However, stringent opposition from Tamil Nadu led to the shelving of the matter.

 

The Cauvery-Guntar river linking project was also set aside due to objection from the Karnataka side even though Tamil Nadu wanted to have a discussion on the same.

 

Tamil Nadu had in the CWMA meeting represented that there was a shortfall in the release of water from Karnataka and that the state requires water in September as the Kuruvai and Samba cultivations were taking place this month. However, Karnataka argued that they would have discussed this issue also during the Mekedatu dam discussion which was put aside due to the objection by the Tamil Nadu government.

 

Duraimurugan told IANS, "I had taken up the Mekedatu dam issue to Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Chauhan and when I came to know that the subject was in the agenda of CWMA, I called him over and sent a letter objecting to raising the matter as it was sub-judice. The union minister assured me that it would not be taken up."

 

The Tamil Nadu side will be objecting to the CWMA again taking up the Mekedatu dam issue as an agenda in its meeting on September 24. The Tamil Nadu government has already informed the state legislative assembly on August 27, that the matter was sub judice. Duraimurugan has informed the house that the Tamil Nadu government had approached the Supreme Court regarding the matter and a contempt plea was pending in the apex court.

 

The contempt petition was against the Central Water Commission (CWC) for having sanctioned permission to the Karnataka side for preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR).