Chennai, Nov 14 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President, Manickam Tagore, on Saturday accused the BJP-led Union government of discriminating against Tamil Nadu over Karnataka’s proposed Mekedatu dam and urged Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to intensify legal efforts to protect the state’s Cauvery water rights.
In a statement, Tagore alleged that the Centre had approved the dam’s Detailed Project Report without Tamil Nadu’s consent.
He described the alleged approval as an action prejudicial to the interests of the state and its farmers. His criticism followed remarks by Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar at a meeting in Mysuru attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to Tagore, CM Shivakumar claimed that the Supreme Court had ruled in Karnataka’s favour on Mekedatu and sought the Centre’s permission to proceed.
Tagore questioned that position, pointing out that Tamil Nadu had approached the Supreme Court against the proposed dam.
He said Karnataka’s push for clearance, while the dispute remained before the court, undermined Tamil Nadu’s interests.
The Congress leader maintained that the project would threaten water flows essential to agriculture in the Cauvery delta.
Karnataka proposes a reservoir with a storage capacity of 67.15 thousand million cubic feet (TMC), which Tamil Nadu has consistently opposed, he said.
Tagore argued that Tamil Nadu’s annual entitlement of 177.25 TMC depended on releases from Karnataka’s reservoirs as well as rainfall runoff from the intervening catchment.
He alleged that Karnataka had repeatedly failed to release water according to the prescribed schedule, forcing Tamil Nadu to pursue remedial measures.
He warned that the proposed reservoir could intercept flows from the uncontrolled catchment, which he said contributed around 80 TMC to Tamil Nadu.
Such a development would severely affect delta farming and could push the region towards desertification, he claimed.
Rejecting Shivakumar’s assurance that the project would not harm Tamil Nadu, Tagore said the state could not accept any construction that jeopardised its share of Cauvery water.
He also contended that proceeding without the consent of the basin states would violate judicial directions governing the river dispute.
Calling for stronger intervention, Tagore urged Vijay to build on the state government’s existing opposition through appropriate legal action.
He said protecting Tamil Nadu’s water entitlement required sustained vigilance and a firm response to any move to advance the project without addressing the state’s objections and the interests of delta farmers.
–IANS
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