New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected Tamil Nadu’s petition to stop Karnataka from moving ahead with the multi-purpose Mekedatu project.
A bench led by Chief Justice BR Gavai said the state’s objection to the preparation of a detailed project report (DPR) was “misconceived” because the report has not yet been approved by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) or the Central Water Commission (CWC).
However, the Apex Court reminded everyone that Karnataka is still bound by the 2018 Supreme Court judgment on the Cauvery water dispute, which requires it to release 177 tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu, represented by senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi, argued that the dam would give Karnataka control over the flow of water to the south. “Karnataka is the upper riparian state. It wants to build the dam and decide when water reaches us,” he said. The state also warned that a complaint about a breach of the water-sharing order could take months to resolve, so it wanted to stop the project early.
On the other hand, Karnataka’s lawyers, Shyam Divan and state advocate-general Shashi Kiran Shetty, told the court the dam would store water for drinking in Bengaluru and generate 400 MW of electricity, without cutting off Tamil Nadu’s share. They added that the project is being funded entirely by Karnataka.
The bench noted that the Central Water Commission has only given permission to prepare the DPR, subject to approval from expert bodies. “We are not water experts; we will rely on their advice,” the bench noted.
Meanwhile, Karnataka’s cabinet has welcomed the ruling, with Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar calling the court’s order “justice to Karnataka”. In a post on X, he said that the decision was a “step forward for fairness and the rightful use of our water resources” and urged Tamil Nadu to cooperate.
“Mekedatu will secure drinking water for Bengaluru and ensure that Tamil Nadu continues to receive its share as per the tribunal’s order, even in poor rain years,” the Deputy CM further assured.
Notably, the Mekedatu project is a proposed multi-purpose dam across the Cauvery River in Karnataka, designed to store water for drinking supply to the fast-growing city of Bengaluru and to generate around 400 MW of hydroelectric power. Although the scheme is being built with state funds, it has led to a long-standing dispute with neighbouring Tamil Nadu, which fears the dam could be used to control the flow of water downstream.