Yediyurappa directs officials to prepare Mekedatu project action plan

 

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has directed officials to prepare the action plan for the Mekedatu project at the earliest, which is vital for the state, Home, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Basavaraj Bommai said here on Wednesday.

This weekend Yediyurappa will hold a meeting with legal experts and technical experts on preparing the action plan for the project, Bommai told reporters.

”There is only a miscellaneous application pending in the Supreme Court with regard to the Mekedatu scheme.

The Chief Minister is going to convene a meeting this weekend. We will discuss with legal experts about the necessary approvals required and how to proceed further,” he said.

Emphasising that the project is important for the state, Bommai said it will play a key role in Cauvery water management in future.

This will be a parallel dam to supply water during a water crisis.

The Mekedatu project has become a bone of contention between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, who often flag the issue of Cauvery water sharing whenever there is shortage in rainfall in the catchment areas of the river, which originates in Kodagu district in Karnataka and courses through Tamil Nadu.

Recently, Yediyurappa wrote to his Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin, urging him not to oppose the project as it will benefit both states.

In response, Stalin requested Yediyurappa not to pursue the Mekedatu project, saying that it would ”impound and divert” the uncontrolled water flow due to Tamil Nadu from Kabini sub-basin, the catchment area below Krishnarajasagar Dam, and also from Simsha, Arkavathy and Suvarnavathi sub- basins, besides other small streams.

To a question on when the monsoon session of the Karnataka legislature would be held, Bommai said it had not yet been decided, but he would discuss it with Yediyurappa.