Karnataka: CM Bommai Holds All-Party Meeting On Water Row. Will Meet Union Minister, If Needed

The Mekedatu project, opposed by Tamil Nadu, involves building a balancing reservoir and store 67 tmc of water

Karnataka: Bommai Holds All-Party Meeting On Water Row, Will Meet Union Minister If Needed (Image: ANI)

New Delhi: The Karnataka government would push the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to approve the Mekedatu project and if need be, will send an all-party delegation to meet Union Water Resources Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to press the Centre to resolve the inter-state water disputes, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Friday.

The statement comes after Bommai chaired an all-party meeting at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru to discuss the interstate water dispute issues.

Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai called an all-party meeting at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru to discuss the interstate water dispute issues.

Congress leaders Siddaramaiah, BK Hariprasad and JDS leaders present at the meeting. pic.twitter.com/dKiBBqxRnm

— ANI (@ANI) March 18, 2022

“The officials said the matter was discussed five or six times in the CWMA and the final meeting will be convened. The proceedings have not arrived yet. We have written to the government at the Centre to release the details of the proceedings in the CWMA,” news agency PTI quoted Bommai as saying.

Karnataka Water Resources Minister Govind Karjol, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, JD(S) leader Bandeppa Kashempur, Opposition Congress leader in the Karnataka Legislative Council BK Hariprasad, former water resources ministers DK Shivakumar, M B Patil and HK Patil were among those who attended the meeting today.

Saying that the state would not agree to inter-linking of Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery and Pennar unless the allocation of water and the river basins are finalised, Bommai said, “After the Assembly session, I will visit Delhi and discuss all inter-state water disputes such as Mekedatu, Mahadayi and Upper Krishna Project with Jalshakti Minister Shekhawat. I will apprise political parties in Karnataka about the outcome of our meeting.”

Speaking on the Mahadayi project, CM Bommai said that since water allocation has been done and the notification has been made by the tribunal concerned, the opposition members wanted the government to get the environmental clearance and start the work.

With regard to the Upper Krishna Project Stage-3, Bommai said, “The project got stayed in 2011. After the final order of the Krishna Tribunal, whenever we made our efforts, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana opposed it. The project has got delayed.”

Notably, the Mekedatu project, opposed by Tamil Nadu, involves building a balancing reservoir and store 67 tmc of water. This project promises to provide 4.75 tmc of water to Bengaluru.