Between ‘friends’ Cong & DMK, Mekedatu dam dispute

Subject :Geography

Section: Places in news

Context:

Days after Karnataka’s Congress government took over at a ceremony that was attended by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, the two states, run by parties that are southern allies against the BJP, clashed over a project to supply drinking water to Bengaluru.

The dispute over Mekedatu project:

After Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister expressed the resolve to build a dam and reservoir on the Cauvery at Mekedatu close to the state’s border with Tamil Nadu, Tamilnadu pointed out that the Mekedatu project was not part of the awards of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) or the ruling of the Supreme Court.
Any unauthorized construction across the river could harm Tamil Nadu and violate both the 2007 final order of the CWDT and the 2018 verdict of the SC, Durai Murugan, who is Water Resources Minister for the state, said.

Mekedatu project:

The Mekedatu dam project is located in Ramanagara district about 100 km south of Bengaluru, close to where the Cauvery enters Tamil Nadu. The project has been contentious for years.
Mekedatu, meaning goat’s leap, is a deep gorge situated at the confluence of the rivers Cauvery and Arkavathi, about 100 km from Bengaluru.
The dam aims to supply drinking water to Bengaluru and replen- ish the regional groundwater table.
The Mekedatu dam will be larger than the Krishnaraja Sagar project on the Cauvery. The Central Water Commission (CWC) had cleared a feasibility study for the project in 2018.

History of opposition:

Tamil Nadu witnessed widespread protests against the dam in 2015, with a statewide bandh that was supported by various stakeholders. The state Assembly passed unanimous resolutions against the project in December 2018 and January 2022.
In August 2021, Tamil Nadu approached the Supreme Court against the project. Tamil Nadu’s key arguments are that Karnataka is attempting to modify the flow of the river by constructing two reservoirs on it.
The action violates the final award of the CRWT, and would impound the flow in the intermediate catchment below the Krishnaraja Sagar and Kabini reservoirs, and Biligundlu, along the border of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the state has argued.