Chennai: The Tamilnadu government has urgently moved the Supreme Court seeking judicial orders to restrain Karnataka from proceedings with ‘any activity’ in regard to the proposed construction of a reservoir at Mekedatu across the inter-State Cauvery river.
Tamilnadu government in the plea has argued that planning of the Mekadatu project by State of Karnataka with a capacity of 67.16 TMC ft. and generating 400 MW power at a cost of about Rs. 9000 crores are in gross violation of the decision of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal dated 5 February, 2007.
The petition said that the entire object and intendment of the final decision of the tribunal as modified by the top court is to ensure that the pattern of the release of water to the downstream State to meet the irrigation interests are not jeopardised.
It submitted that Karnataka unilaterally, despite the Tribunal and apex court decisions, sent a feasibility report of the Mekedatu project to the Central Water Commission (CWC), which proceeded to entertain the proposal.
The application by Tamilnadu says, “the proposed reservoir would result in the impounding of the flows generated in the Cauvery river from the uncontrolled catchment of the Kabini sub-basin downstream of the Kabini reservoir, the catchment of Cauvery river downstream of KRS dam, uncontrolled flows from Shimsha, Arkavathy and Suvarnavathy sub-basins and various other small streams, which are the sources to ensure 177.25TMC at Billigundlu.”