Congress justifies Mekedatu drinking water project
Justifying the proposed Mekedatu drinking water project, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee has said that the Supreme Court has already settled the legal position and
Justifying the proposed Mekedatu drinking water project, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee has said that the Supreme Court has already settled the legal position and that the proposed reservoir does not alter Karnataka’s legal obligation to Tamil Nadu with respect to releasing water. In response to actor Chethan Ahimsa’s letter to Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in which he has raised environmental concerns, Congress vice-president S.A. Hussain said that Bengaluru’s drinking water shortfall of 500 million litres daily is documented and not speculative.
“Every large infrastructure project carries an environmental cost. The question before policy makers is not whether there is any impact but whether that impact is proportionate to the public benefit and can be responsibly mitigated. Roughly about 5,000 hectares of forest land is going to be submerged.” He pointed out the submergence of about 10,000 hectares of forests in the Sardar Sarovar project, 40,000 hectares of forests in the Narmada Sagar project, and over 75,000 acres of cultivated land and several thousand acres of forest in the Polavaram project.
“We are not asking Karnataka to choose between environmental protection and drinking water security. Responsible public policy must achieve both. We would welcome an independent
and transparent technical review of the sanctuary’s biodiversity, including the grizzled giant squirrel population. Water security and environmental protection need not be opposing commitments,” he said.
The BriefWire