Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa has written a letter to his Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin, asking him not to oppose his government’s Mekedatu project on the Cau, arguing that it would immensely benefit both states.
“Both states are bound to get benefited by Mekedatu project,” Yediyurappa said in the letter.
He further said that the project, stipulated to meet the drinking and domestic water needs of the people of Karnataka, including the whole city of Bengaluru, in no way affects the interests of the farming communities of Tamil Nadu.
Yediyurappa said in the letter that the project will be taken as per the directions of the Supreme Court which includes lifting of 4.75 TMC water for the use of Bengaluru city and also constructing a hydel power project of 400 MW.
“Karnataka will only take its share of water from the project and nothing more,” Yediyurappa said in the letter.
The Karnataka chief minister has appealed to Stalin that both states should go hand-in-hand and reap the rich dividends for their people in terms of water and agriculture. He has also recommended that official level talks must be arranged at the earliest to thrash out differences.
Tamil Nadu has opposed the project, claiming that it will lead to a reduction in the state’s quota of water from the Cauvery river, as awarded by the Supreme Court, and that it will be harmful for the state’s farmers. The Stalin government has filed an appeal in the top court against the project.
The Karnataka government, too, has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court seeking a study on the environmental impact of the project.
Yediyurappa, in his letter, has reminded Stalin of the projects planned by Tamil Nadu government – at Kundaha and Sillahalla – on the main river below Mettur for which it hasn’t consulted Karnataka.