Bengaluru: The Karnataka Congress government has stepped up efforts to build the Mekedatu dam across the Cauvery at Mekedatu in Kanakapura taluk of Ramanagara district, with an estimated cost of Rs 16,745 crore. The state has submitted a detailed project report to the Union government and later filed a revised version as well.
Tamil Nadu has strongly objected to the proposal, arguing that a dam at Mekedatu would affect its share of Cauvery water. Karnataka, however, has maintained that it will proceed with the project, with Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Irrigation Minister N. Chaluvarayaswamy reiterating their stand.
Shivakumar, who met Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil in Delhi, said he pressed for clearance for the Mekedatu project while also discussing other pending irrigation schemes in the state. He claimed that a team of officials from the Central Water Commission had already visited and inspected the proposed dam site, and that Karnataka officials briefed them in detail.
According to the Chief Minister, the dam is intended only to meet Bengaluru’s drinking water needs and not for irrigation, and he said the Union minister had understood Karnataka’s position. He also invited the Tamil Nadu government to send a team to inspect the site—located about 4 km from the state border—and said Karnataka would extend full cooperation. However, he did not specify when the central team’s inspection took place.
