‘No need for talks with TN on Mekedatu’

NT Correspondent

Mounting an attack on the Congress for its ‘futile padayatra’ on the Mekedatu project, former CM and JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy opined that there was no need to hold talks with Tamil Nadu or seek its permission before going ahead with the drinking water project.

Participating in a debate on the state Budget 2022-23 in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, he said mediation by the Union government was also not required. Neighboring Tamil Nadu cannot object to the construction of a balancing reservoir to impound water for drinking purposes planned at Mekedatu. ‘’The counsels for TN in the apex court have filed an affidavit that their state has no objection if Karnataka used its share of water for any purpose. They had gone to the extent of telling the Supreme Court that Karnataka can go ahead with the construction of another dam on the border between the two states,’’ claimed Kumaraswamy.

He asserted that the permission of neighbouring states is not needed to use their share of water. Union Minister for Jal Shakthi Gajendra Singh Shekhawat’s statement offering to mediate between the two states on the Mekedatu project is not acceptable. The government must tell Shekhawat that such mediation is not required.

“I am surprised at the Union Minister’s statement. The state must file its objection in this regard. The government of Karnataka must not agree to any mediation by anybody. When B.S.Yediyurappa was CM, he had written a letter to his TN counterpart about mutual talks on this project which was not at all required”.

The JD(S) leader said easy implementation of the project is not possible now because of the confusion created by the incumbent government. Former PM Deve Gowda has written a detailed letter to CM Bommai on steps to be taken to make the project a reality. Gowda has opined that it is not possible to build a balancing reservoir with 67.16 tmc ft of water gross capacity of which 30.65 tmc ft of water would be used for for drinking water purpose. The incumbent government must take note of this.

At the time of preparing the DPR, the project cost was estimated at Rs 9,000 crore and now it has shot up to Rs 12,000 crore. “I don’t know why the Central government is insisting on taking permission from the TN government. All of us are ready to go to Delhi to meet PM Narendra Modi in this regard.

If both states sit across the table and discuss it, why do they need Central Water Commission (CWC)? Why do we need alternative systems? What we want now is only environmental clearance for the project”, he noted.

Training his guns on Congress leaders, Kumaraswamy said they were claiming that the state government has reserved Rs 1,000 crore in the budget for the Mekedatu project due to fear of the padayatra. Congress leaders should know that several parties have raised objections to the project.