Environment1 min
Tamil Nadu CM Vijay urges PM Modi to pause Mekedatu dam steps after site visit
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay says the Centre's inspection of Karnataka's proposed Cauvery reservoir has deepened worries among farmers who depend on the river.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, objecting to a recent site inspection by Union government officials at Karnataka's proposed Mekedatu dam project. He wants any follow-up action put on hold.
At the centre of the dispute is Karnataka's plan for a reservoir across the Cauvery with a capacity of 67.16 TMC, just upstream of the border between the two states. Vijay argues the structure would stop water from reaching Tamil Nadu and disrupt the monthly deliveries the Supreme Court has set.
In plain terms: the Cauvery feeds farms across the delta region, and the court-fixed monthly schedule tells downstream farmers how much water to expect and when. A large storage dam upstream, Vijay says, puts that rhythm at risk.
His letter makes three asks. He wants any further administrative or technical action arising from the inspection deferred. He wants no statutory or administrative approvals granted without the consent of the co-basin states. And he wants Karnataka advised not to proceed with the project.
Vijay also flagged reports of meetings between the Karnataka Chief Minister and officials of the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Those talks reportedly concern clearance of the Detailed Project Report (DPR). Such developments, he wrote, have kept Tamil Nadu's farmers in "perpetual anxiety".
The letter signals that the Mekedatu question, long a flashpoint between the two states, is heating up again as the Centre's officials engage with the project. For farmers downstream, the stakes are simple: water for the next crop.
Read the original report on The Tribune.
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