Chennai: A meeting of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) has directed the Karnataka government to release the June and July monthly stipulated quantum of Cauvery waters to Tamilnadu for Kuruvai paddy cultivation.
At a virtual meeting, State PWD Additional Chief Secretary Dr Sandeep Saxena urged the CWMA to direct Karnataka to release 9.19 TMC ft water for the month of June and 31.24 TMC ft for the month of July as per the Supreme Court orders.
Following this, the meeting directed Karnataka to release waters as per the Apex Court orders.
In the meeting, Tamilnadu also raised its objection to Karnataka’s move to construct a new dam at Mekedatu across the river Cauvery in violation of the Apex court orders.
Tamilnadu also insisted that any attempt to construct the dam should be stopped and permission should not be given to Karnataka to take up any preliminary works in this regard, an official release said.
Since the matter was pending before the Supreme Court, any discussion on the Mekedatu issue should be avoided at the meeting, following which the issue was not taken up for discussions.
At the meeting it was also decided to hold discussions at a later date on the Salem-Sarbanga water project and the Cauvery-Gundaru river linking project.
It may be recalled Tamilnadu has been consistently opposing the Karnataka government’s move to construct the Mekedatu Dam.
Governor Banwarilal Purohit in his customary address to the newly constituted 16th Legislative Assembly on Monday also urged the Centre to reject the Karnataka’s proposal.
‘We strongly urge the Union Government to reject the Mekedatu Project proposed by Karnataka, which is in violation of the judgement of the Supreme Court’, he said.
It was sheer coincidental as todayâs CWMA meeting took place on the day the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) delivered its interim award 30 years ago.