None can build dam across Cauvery at Mekedatu without TN’s nod: Minister Duraimurugan

CHENNAI: None can construct a reservoir across the Cauvery at Mekedatu without the consent of Tamil Nadu, WRD minister Duraimurugan asserted in the Assembly.

“This is the outcome of the State’s legal battle,” said the minister while replying to the debate on demands for grants for the department on Monday.

Elaborating on the sequence of events, the minister explained that the neighbouring Karnataka government had prepared a detailed project report (DPR) to construct a reservoir at Mekedatu. They approached the Central Water Commission, which in turn referred it to the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), proposing talks on the issue, the minister told the House. “When we opposed this and stated that the authority had no rights to discuss the Mekedatu issue,” the minister said. Subsequently, the TN government approached the Supreme Court and secured a favourable order, ruling that the CWMA has no jurisdiction to discuss the Mekedatu issue, he said, adding, “We have made history in the Constitution itself.”

As a result, the Central Water Commission returned Karnataka’s DPR, but the upper riparian state once again prepared a DPR and sought approval from the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment which was once again rejected, Duraimurugan said. It has been clearly told that permission won’t be granted “without the consent of TN,” the minister said.

Similarly, the Kerala government filed a case in the High Court, while Tamil Nadu filed a case in the Madras High Court regarding the Mullaiperiyar issue, he pointed out. He added that the then CM M Karunanidhi-led government acted swiftly and approached the apex court and pleaded to have the two cases clubbed together. This strategy paid off, resulting in an order guaranteeing the storage of water up to 142 feet in the Mullaiperiyar reservoir, he said.