Bengaluru, Nov 9:
Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Sunday sought Tamil Nadu’s cooperation for the proposed Mekedatu balancing reservoir project, asserting that the reservoir would benefit the lower riparian state more than Karnataka.
Reacting to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi opposing the project, Shivakumar claimed Karnataka did not need Tamil Nadu’s permission, only its cooperation. “I do not need Tamil Nadu’s permission for this project. What we need is its cooperation,” he said, adding: “I think Vijay and the people of Tamil Nadu have not yet understood that the Mekedatu project will benefit Tamil Nadu more than Karnataka. I appeal to them to visit the project site. If we divert some water from there to Bengaluru for drinking purposes, there is no scope for us to draw any additional water beyond that.”
Shivakumar maintained that Karnataka is committed to honouring the Supreme Court directive to release 177 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu and noted that 5,400 hectares of compensatory land have been identified to offset forest submergence for the 400 MW pumped-storage project.