Mekedatu dam project

• Tamil Nadu and Karnataka govt have once again clashed over the Rs 9,000-crore Mekedatu project.
• Karnataka Chief Minister Yediyurappa Saturday wrote to his Tamil Nadu counterpart M.K. Stalin, urging him not to oppose the reservoir project.

Key points:

• On July 6, Karnataka CM B.S. Yediyurappa said that his government would go ahead with the long-pending Mekedatu dam project in the Cauvery Basin
• The project aims to cater to the drinking water needs of the Bengaluru Metropolitan City and surrounding areas.

Background: Kaveri river dispute

• Kaveri river originates in Karnataka, flows through Tamil Nadu with major tributaries coming from Kerala and drains into Bay of Bengal through Pondicherry.
• The genesis of the dispute is 150 years old
• It dates back to the two agreements of 1892 and 1924 between the then Madras presidency and Mysore.
• It entailed the principle that the upper riparian state must obtain consent of lower riparian state for any construction activity viz. reservoir on river Cauvery.
• The water sharing agreement between the two states, signed in 1924, expired in 1974.

• From 1974, Karnataka started diverting water into its four newly made reservoirs, without the consent of Tamil Nadu resulting in a dispute.
• Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) was established in 1990 to resolve the dispute
• The tribunal took took 17 years to arrive at the final order (2007) on how Cauvery water should be shared between the 4 riparian states.
• In normal years, It allocated

1. 419 tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu,
2. 270 tmcft to Karnataka,
3. 30 tmcft to Kerala and
4. 7 tmcft to Puducherry.

• In distress years, It advised to use water on pro-rata basis
• The government notified the order in 2013.
• Aggrieved over the final order for different reasons, the States appealed to the Supreme Court.
• In February 2018, the court, in its judgment, revised the water allocation and increased the share of Karnataka by 14.75 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) at the cost of Tamil Nadu.
• As per SC, Karnataka would get 284.75 tmc ft, Tamil Nadu 404.25 tmc ft, Kerala 30 tmc ft and Puducherry 7 tmc ft.
• The enhanced quantum for Karnataka comprised 4.75 tmc ft for meeting drinking water and domestic requirements of Bengaluru and surrounding areas.

Mekadutu project:

• Karnataka, which sees the SC order as an endorsement of its stand, has set out to pursue the Mekedatu project.
• It is a ₹9,000 crore,
• It envisages the construction of a reservoir of 67.16-tmc ft capacity
• It will come up about 4 km away from the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border.
• A hydropower plant of nearly 400 MW has also been proposed.
• The Karnataka government has argued that the proposed reservoir will regulate the flow to Tamil Nadu on a monthly basis
• Karnataka CM has contended that the project will not affect the interests of Tamil Nadu farmers.

Why is Tamil Nadu opposed to it?

• Tamil Nadu feels that Karnataka, through the project, will impound and divert flows from “uncontrolled catchments” to it
• Uncontrolled catchments were taken into account by the Tribunal in the 2007 order while arriving at the water allocation plan for the State.
• As per an estimate, around 80 tmc ft of water flows annually to Tamil Nadu from area between:

1. Kabini dam in Karnataka and Billigundulu gauging site on the inter-State border,

2. Krishnaraja Sagar dam in Karnataka and the gauging site.

• According to Tamil nadu: There is no need for the Mekedatu project as the upper riparian State has adequate infrastructure even now to address the water needs of Bengaluru
• The Mekedatu project also does not find mention in the Tribunal’s final order or the Supreme Court judgment.