The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Thursday passed a unanimous resolution urging the central government to withdraw the permission given to Karnataka to prepare a detailed project report for its proposed dam in Mekedatu area across the Cauvery river, PTI reported.
The resolution, moved by Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami, asked the Union Ministry of Water Resources “to immediately order the Central Water Commission to withdraw the permission given to Karnataka for preparing the DPR [detailed project report]”.
The Assembly mentioned that it had passed unanimous resolutions against the dam’s construction on two earlier occasions. The latest resolution said that the proposal goes against the Supreme Court’s order that upper riparian states must not implement any project without the consent of lower riparian states, The News Minute reported.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President and Leader of the Opposition MK Stalin said that all parties kept politics aside to come together and pass the resolution. “As far as the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is concerned, beyond politics and differences in party ideologies, we supported the resolution since the issue relates to the livelihood of the people of Tamil Nadu,” Stalin said after the Assembly. “In this time, we also requested that the resolution condemns the central government too since as of now, the resolution seeks the interference of the Centre.”
The state government on Wednesday had moved the Supreme Court to initiate contempt proceedings against the Central Water Commission, Karnataka Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar and others for allegedly violating the top court’s order on the Mekedatu construction. The Supreme Court will hear the plea next week.
‘Mekedatu is Karnataka’s right’
Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Thursday held consultations with several senior ministers and technical and legal experts on irrigation schemes. The meeting was attended by former chief ministers Siddaramaiah and Jagadish Shettar, and former water resource ministers Allam Veerabadhrappa, KS Eshwarappa, HK Patil, MB Patil and Basavaraj Bommai.
State Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar, after the meeting, reiterated that the project is the state’s “right” and its “lifetime dream”. “It is the right of our state, we don’t want to fight or have a misunderstanding with anyone on this issue,” he said. “It is a balancing reservoir, there is no question of us misusing it.”
Shivakumar said he would request Tamil Nadu to share the water. “With utmost humility, I appeal that both of us [Karnataka and Tamil Nadu] should work together in protecting the interests of our people,” he said.
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