Chennai, Aug 1:
PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Friday urged the Tamil Nadu government to immediately approach the Supreme Court to secure its share of Cauvery water from Karnataka, citing the Centre’s clarification that the proposed Mekedatu project has not received key statutory approvals.
Speaking to reporters at Chennai airport, Anbumani said the Mettur reservoir had “virtually run dry”, while Karnataka continued to hold about 67 tmc ft of water in its reservoirs. He insisted that Tamil Nadu should seek legal directions to ensure water release, rather than relying on backchannel negotiations over the Mekedatu project.
Referring to Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s proposed visit to Karnataka, the PMK leader said his party had already advised against it. He instead called for an all-party meeting and urged the State to take MPs and MLAs to New Delhi to press Prime Minister Narendra Modi for intervention. “There is no need for secret negotiations on such a sensitive interstate issue,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a written reply to an unstarred question raised by Anbumani in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh said the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir Project has not been granted Terms of Reference for environmental clearance, as its Detailed Project Report (DPR) is yet to be finalised by the Ministry of Jal Shakti and approved by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).
The minister noted that Karnataka had submitted its proposal seeking Terms of Reference on June 20, 2019, which was examined by the Expert Appraisal Committee on July 19, 2019. However, following consultations with the Ministry of Jal Shakti, it was decided that clearance could be considered only after the DPR is finalised and approved by the CWMA, given the project’s interstate implications.
“The concurrence of the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Cauvery Water Management Authority on the DPR is still awaited,” the minister said. He also clarified that no proposal seeking forest clearance under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 is currently under consideration.
Anbumani had sought details on whether environmental and forest clearance proposals had been submitted, whether the project’s impact on the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, biodiversity, elephant corridors and downstream ecology had been assessed, and whether a cumulative Environmental Impact Assessment had been conducted.
The latest clarification follows an earlier response from the Ministry of Jal Shakti stating that the Mekedatu project proposal has not yet been approved by the CWMA and remains under examination.