Chennai: At a time when the Tamilnadu government has filed a petition at the Supreme Court seeking it to quash the Union Ministry’s clearance to Karnataka to prepare a detailed project report to build a dam across the Cauvery at Mekedatu, the Cauvery Water Management Authority is scheduled to meet in New Delhi tomorrow.
Reports say officials from Tamilnadu will raise their objection for Union government’s clearance to Karnataka.
The Cauvery Water Management Authority, in its first meeting on 2 July, ordered Karnataka to release 31.24 TMC water to Tamilnadu in the same month. Representatives of Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Puducherry attended the meeting.
According to the minutes of the meeting, the authority directed Karnataka to release 31.24 TMC water to Tamilnadu in the month of July.
The authority directed Karnataka to ensure balance quantity (of water) for July, delinquently adjusting the excess quantity of water realised by Tamilnadu in June, subject to the assessment and recommendations by the regulation committee.
The Monday’s meeting is expected to discuss the quantity of water discharged for Tamilnadu every month and water situation in various dams in both Tamilnadu and Karnataka among others.
Meanwhile officials from Tamilnadu are expected to raise objection for Union government’s clearance to Karnataka’s plans to build a dam across the Cauvery at Mekadatu.
Remember Tamilnadu government filed a petition at the Supreme Court seeking it to quash the Union Ministry’s clearance to it. In the plea, Tamilnadu has mentioned in detail the problems the State and its farmers would suffer if the neighbouring State constructed a dam across the river.
Recently, Palaniswami had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct the Water Resources Ministry to forthwith withdraw the permission given to Karnataka.
The proposed reservoir, to be built at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore, will occupy 4,000 acres of forest land in Kanakapura Assembly constituency and also a small parcel of land from the neighbouring Malavalli. As soon as the Central Water Commission gave its go-ahead for the Mekedatu project, Union Minister of State for Finance, Pon Radhakrishnan, made his stand clear that he was totally opposed to the project.
On Thursday, the DMK convened an all-party meet during which a resolution to stage a massive agitation 4 December at Tiruchi was passed.