Centre's Mekedatu stand disappointing, withdraw reply: Vijay writes to PM Modi
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling the Centre's reply in the Rajya Sabha on the
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling the Centre's reply in the Rajya Sabha on the proposed Mekedatu dam "disappointing" and urging that it be withdrawn. He also asked the Prime Minister to ensure that no statutory or administrative approval is granted to the project unless it is consistent with the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award and the Supreme Court's judgment. Read Full Story In his letter, Vijay said the reply by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti in the Rajya Sabha on July 27 stated that the Supreme Court's judgment of February 16, 2018, does not expressly stipulate that Karnataka must obtain the consent of lower riparian states before building a structure across the Cauvery. Vijay said the reply appeared to have been given without considering the prevailing legal position and settled law on the consent of lower riparian states. The actor-politician told PM Modi that in the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh Alamatti case, the Supreme Court had ruled that the consent of a lower riparian state is absolutely necessary.
Referring to the Cauvery Tribunal award, he said the Supreme Court had expressly affirmed Clause XVIII, which preserves the power of each state to regulate waters within its territory only "in a manner not inconsistent with the order of the Tribunal". He said that meant any project with the potential to affect the regulated flow regime under the award must be examined for consistency with it. He also pointed to the Tribunal's approach in Kerala's Pambar hydroelectric Project, which involved only 0.1 TMC of consumptive use. Vijay said the tribunal had directed Kerala and Tamil Nadu to jointly agree on the schedule of releases so that downstream irrigation was not adversely affected, showing that it gave paramount importance not only to annual quantities but also to coordinated regulation of releases affecting lower riparian interests. He further cited Clause XI of the award, which bars any upper riparian state from taking action affecting scheduled deliveries to downstream states except through mutual agreement and consultation with the regulatory authority, and Clause XX, which says modifications to the award can only be made through agreement among the party states.
Vijay said Tamil Nadu's position was that the proposed Mekedatu project could not be assessed merely as an engineering proposal and that its legal permissibility must first be examined in the context of the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and the Supreme Court judgment of February 16, 2018. He said the rights of lower riparian states must also be factored in, and noted that the Detailed Project Report submitted by Karnataka in 2019 had been returned by the Central Water Commission for revision to ensure compliance with the Tribunal award and applicable guidelines. "This itself demonstrates that compliance with the Award remains an indispensable precondition," he said. He urged PM Modi to ensure that the rights of lower riparian states in relation to both water share and the regulated pattern of releases are fully protected, and that any future consideration of the project is taken up only after a comprehensive technical and legal examination that takes into account the concerns of all lower riparian states.
The BriefWire