Bengaluru: The Karnataka Congress government has submitted a revised Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the proposed Mekedatu dam to the Central Water Commission. The document reportedly states that around 12,500 acres of forest land would be used for the project and about 8.90 lakh trees could be felled, alarming environmental activists.
The dam is planned across the Cauvery at Mekedatu in Kanakapura taluk of Bengaluru South district. Tamil Nadu has opposed the project, arguing it would affect water availability for the state.
In Parliament, Union Jal Shakti Minister of State Raj Bhushan Choudhary said Tamil Nadu’s consent is not required to build the Mekedatu dam, drawing sharp criticism in Tamil Nadu. Earlier, the Central Water Commission had returned Karnataka’s DPR citing several deficiencies and asked the state to rectify and resubmit it.
Ahead of the resubmission, Chief Minister Shivakumar held discussions with Irrigation Minister Cheluvarayaswamy and officials on the project’s status and next steps, including issues related to forest diversion and tree felling. The revised DPR also mentions compensatory plantation and improvement works in forest areas of Dakshina Kannada and Shivamogga districts.
Separately, Kannada media reported with a video that water was being released from the KRS dam to Tamil Nadu, but Minister Cheluvarayaswamy denied it. He said protecting farmers is the government’s responsibility, while also cautioning that “we cannot play with nature.”
