AIADMK chief slams Union minister’s response on Mekedatu dam row

Karnataka’s move to build a reservoir at Mekedatu would further jeopardise downstream water security, Palaniswami added.

Chennai: AIADMK Chief Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday slammed Union Minister of State Raj Bhushan Chowdhary’s reply in the Parliament on a dam proposed by the Karnataka government across the Cauvery at Mekedatu, saying that the reply misinterpreted the Supreme Court’s verdict.

Expressing deep shock over the statement, the AIADMK general secretary said in a statement here that inter-state rivers are national properties and that upper-riparian states cannot unilaterally alter water flows.

He urged the Central Government and its ministers to act with greater responsibility with regard to issues concerning the sentiments of the people, particularly on the Mekedatu dam issue. The responses given on sensitive inter-state water issues must keep in mind the historical context, legal facts, and the sentiments of the affected people, he said.

The former chief minister highlighted page 342 of the 2018 Supreme Court verdict, which, according to him, clearly said, “no state located upstream of the river shall take any action that may affect the scheduled distribution of water to the states located downstream”.

The controversy arose after Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary told the Rajya Sabha in a written response to a query raised by PMK MP Anbumani Ramadoss on Monday, that the Supreme Court’s landmark February 16, 2018 judgment in the Cauvery water dispute did not explicitly state that Karnataka must seek prior permission from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, or Puducherry before building structures across the Cauvery River.

The Union minister stated that the 2018 Supreme Court judgment contained no clause requiring Karnataka to obtain clearance from the lower riparian states before constructing structures across the Cauvery River.

Highlighting the gravity of the issue, Palaniswami emphasised that the Cauvery River served as the primary source of drinking water across 20 districts in Tamil Nadu and is also the lifeline for agriculture in the state’s fertile Cauvery delta region.

“Karnataka has already failed to release Tamil Nadu’s stipulated share of water in a timely manner this year, severely disrupting the Kuruvai paddy crop cultivation and triggering drinking water shortages in several regions,” he alleged.

Karnataka’s move to build a reservoir at Mekedatu would further jeopardise downstream water security, Palaniswami added.

He recalled that persistent efforts by the AIADMK governments and claimed that they led to the gazetting of the Cauvery implementation plan on June 1, 2018, and also the setting up of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).

During his tenure as Chief Minister, he had repeatedly written to and met the Prime Minister and Union Water Resources Minister between 2017 and 2018 to oppose the Mekedatu dam proposal, Palaniswami said and vowed that the AIADMK would not remain silent over actions that prejudice Tamil Nadu’s river rights.

“The Cauvery River is the lifeblood of Tamil Nadu. After years of legal battles, the Supreme Court has given a good verdict. In this context, the reply given in the Rajya Sabha by the Union Minister of State for Water Resources has shocked the people of Tamil Nadu. Therefore, I urge that while answering questions raised on such very important issues, the sentiments of the people of the state concerned should be kept in mind,” Palaniswami said.