According to Karnataka, the Mekedatu project is not intended to affect Tamil Nadu
The Karnataka government has informed the Supreme Court that the proposed project “is not intended to cause any prejudice or injury” to the neighbouring state, Tamil Nadu, in response to Tamil Nadu’s objections to its plans to construct a reservoir in Mekedatu across the interstate Cauvery river.
The project is not intended to use consumptive water for irrigation, according to the Detailed Project Report.
The project’s goal is to lift the water needed to deliver drinking water to Bengaluru, as well as to control flow patterns and produce electricity, Karnataka claimed in an application submitted to the top court.
The project, according to Karnataka, “would rather support the interest” of Tamil Nadu since it “would help in managing the flows in favour of….Tamil Nadu, during the months of June and July, if the monsoon is delayed in these months.”
Studies have shown that there is typically a scarcity of 13 TMC water during these months, therefore there is no need for Tamil Nadu to resist the project, it stated, and if there is any harm, it can be remedied by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).
The SC is currently deliberating TN’s request for a directive prohibiting the Authority from moving forward with the Mekedatu project. The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal’s February 5, 2007, ruling on the distribution of river water between the two states was upheld by the SC on February 16, 2018, and TN claims that the project is in “gross breach” of that ruling. However, Karnataka emphasised in its plea that the Supreme Court had accepted the Centre’s plan to create CWMA to carry out the Tribunal’s ruling as modified by the top court.
The affidavit stated that the CWMA, a statutory expert body, must thus decide the issue and cannot be restrained unless it can be proven that it is working outside of its authority. TN “should not be allowed to run away from the CWMA,” Karnataka stated, adding that “CWMA is within its rights and functions to consider the said problem.”
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