Catch-22 for Congress as Tamil Nadu's Vijay takes on Karnataka over Mekedatu

The Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously opposed Karnataka's Mekedatu dam project and urged the Centre to withhold approval. The move sharpens the Cauvery dispute and leaves Congress divided across the two states.

In Short

• Tamil Nadu passes unanimous resolution against Karnataka's Mekedatu project
• Tamil Nadu said the project breaches tribunal award and Supreme Court ruling
• Karnataka says Mekedatu will aid Bengaluru's water supply and hydropower generation

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday unanimously passed a resolution opposing Karnataka's proposed Mekedatu dam project across the Cauvery River, urging the Centre not to grant any approval or clearance for the dam.

The resolution strongly objected to Karnataka's "unilateral" move to construct the Rs 9,000-crore balancing reservoir, arguing that the project violates the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award and subsequent Supreme Court judgment.

Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, who moved the resolution in the Assembly, said safeguarding the state's water rights was a collective responsibility.

"Water is our basic right and resource. The responsibility to protect it is on us," Vijay said. "We pass a resolution on this without indulging in blaming other parties."

The resolution stated that Karnataka was attempting to proceed with the project without securing approval from the Centre, a move Tamil Nadu deemed “unacceptable”.

The dispute has also caused a schism within Congress. While Karnataka is ruled by the Congress, the party’s leaders in Tamil Nadu have backed the TVK-led government’s resolution calling for a halt to the construction of the dam.

The resolution noted that both the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and the Supreme Court had held that the Cauvery basin is a deficit basin and that the available water has already been allocated among the basin states.

"Therefore, no new project can be undertaken in the Cauvery Basin, nor can any additional quantity of water be utilised," the resolution said.

The Assembly urged the Centre to advise Karnataka against constructing the Mekedatu dam and asked the Central Water Commission not to process or approve Karnataka's Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the project. The House also endorsed all measures being taken by the state government to block the proposal, saying the move was necessary to safeguard the interests of Tamil Nadu's farmers.

"We can have difference of opinion in politics but for people's welfare we should all be united," Vijay said. "For farmers and people we must all be united."

The resolution comes amid renewed political and legal tensions over the long-running Cauvery water-sharing dispute. Karnataka has maintained that the Mekedatu project is intended to meet Bengaluru's growing drinking water needs and generate hydroelectric power, and has repeatedly argued that it will not adversely affect Tamil Nadu's share of water.

The project proposes the construction of a reservoir on the Cauvery near its confluence with the Arkavathi River in Ramanagara district's Kanakapura region. It is designed to supply drinking water to Bengaluru and generate 400 megawatts of renewable hydroelectric power.

Earlier, Vijay wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking rejection of Karnataka's DPR for the project, reiterating Tamil Nadu's opposition to any new storage structure on the Cauvery without the consent of downstream states.

- Ends