A Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been submitted by the Karnataka government to the Central Water Commission (CWC) regarding the Mekedatu reservoir/drinking water project. The Mekedatu project has long been the pinpoint of conflict, with several voicing their opposition to it.
According to reports, a letter was sent to the Chief Engineer of the CWC’s Project Appraisal Organisation by the Karnataka state Principal Secretary of Water Resources Department on January 18. In the letter, the Karnataka government claimed that an initial report had been submitted to Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, but that none of the co-basin states had replied.
The state of Tamil Nadu has been opposing the project citing that it will result in Cauvery water being restricted from flowing to it. However, Karnataka state representatives replied to this by claiming that the Mekedatu project will take place within its own limits and that there was no legal opposition to the same as a result.
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.
It has been estimated that the total cost for the project will amount to around Rs 5900 crore, according to some sources.
Earlier, on Friday, January 4, the Karnataka state government filed a counter to Tamil Nadu’s application with the Supreme Court which sought to prevent Karnataka from proceeding with the DPR for the Mekedatu project. The application which had previously been filed by the Tamil Nadu government claimed that the proposed reservoir would obstruct the natural flow of the river and result in the water supply from the river to the state being affected.