Chennai: “The Karnataka Chief Minister’s arrogant statement that permission to build the Mekedatu dam will be obtained soon is against Indian federalism. The TVK government should not grant even the slightest permission to the Karnataka government’s attempt to build the Mekedatu dam,” said Seeman, the chief coordinator of the Naam Tamilar Katchi.
In a statement he released on this, he said, ‘The Karnataka government’s continued insistence on securing the Union government’s approval to build a new dam across the Cauvery at Mekedatu is strongly condemnable.
Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar personally met Union Water Resources Minister C.R. Patil and insisted that approvals for the ₹16,745 crore Mekedatu dam project be expedited and that the Central Water Commission take swift action, while confidently saying that the Union government would grant approval soon. This is the height of arrogance.
The Union government’s failure to issue any denial in response to the Karnataka Chief Minister’s overreaching remarks against Indian federalism is a grave betrayal of Tamil Nadu. Karnataka government’s continued push to advance the Mekedatu project in this manner is deeply concerning.
Kaveri is not a river that belongs only to Karnataka. It is a livelihood right intertwined with the lives and emotions of the Tamil people. Karnataka’s attempt to unilaterally build a new dam, disregarding the water rights of Tamil Nadu, the downstream state of the Kaveri, and the livelihoods of lakhs of farmers, can never be allowed.
Already, Tamil Nadu has to struggle every year just to obtain the Kaveri water that is rightfully its own; if yet another massive dam is built across the Kaveri, Tamil Nadu will turn into a desert.
The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution last June stating that the Union Government of India should not grant any approval whatsoever for the Mekedatu dam, including technical or environmental clearance, and that the Union Water Commission should not examine Karnataka’s detailed project report. As the Congress government ruling Karnataka tries to push ahead with the project in a way that would undermine that resolution, what is the next step taken by the DMK government?
The Karnataka Chief Minister meets the Union Minister in person and seeks approval; what political and legal pressure has the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister created on the Union government to protect Cauvery rights? Will Chief Minister Vijay simply fulfill his duty by making a request to the Union government that no approval should be granted for the Mekedatu project and, as usual, writing a letter?
When the Karnataka government continues to pressure the Union government for the benefit of its state, shouldn’t the TVK government show the same determination and urgency for the benefit of Tamil Nadu?
What is the point of fighting after losing the Cauvery water rights? Shouldn’t stopping it before permission for the dam is granted be the primary duty of a responsible Tamil Nadu government?
Mekedatu is not merely a dam issue; it is a crucial rights issue tied to Tamil Nadu’s water rights, food production, the livelihood of Delta farmers, and the water security of future generations. Under no circumstances, and مهما the pressure, should the Mekedatu dam, which affects Tamil Nadu’s Cauvery water rights, ever be allowed. It must not be permitted by the Union Government of India either.
Therefore, I urge the Tamil Nadu government to further strengthen its stance against the Karnataka government's Mekedatu dam initiative and immediately take all necessary legal, administrative, and political measures to prevent the Union government from granting any kind of approval,’ he noted.
