Tamil Nadu CM Vijay Urges PM Modi to Reject Karnataka’s Mekedatu Project, Citing Cauvery Water Rights Concerns

Chennai, May 2026 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging the Union government to reject Karnataka’s proposed Mekedatu reservoir project across the Cauvery river, warning that the project would violate Supreme Court directions and endanger the interests of lakhs of farmers dependent on Cauvery water.

In his detailed letter, Chief Minister Vijay expressed serious concern over Karnataka’s reported plans to conduct a “Bhoomi Puja” for the Mekedatu project. He said recent public statements made by Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister regarding the initiative had created widespread anxiety among farmers in Tamil Nadu, whose agricultural livelihood is heavily dependent on the regulated flow of Cauvery waters.

The Chief Minister underlined that the Cauvery water dispute had undergone nearly three decades of legal adjudication before reaching a final resolution through the Supreme Court’s judgment dated February 16, 2018, which is currently under implementation.

He noted that the Mekedatu project was not included among the schemes approved under the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT), and that this position was later upheld by the Supreme Court, making any unilateral move legally questionable.

Vijay stressed that the Cauvery basin is already classified as a water-deficient basin, where available water resources have been allocated among basin states on the basis of 50 per cent dependability. Given this framework, he argued that there is no legal or hydrological scope for introducing new major reservoirs or implementing additional projects across the river or its tributaries.

He further warned that Karnataka’s proposal for constructing a 67.16 TMC storage reservoir near the Tamil Nadu border could significantly disrupt regulated water flows from uncontrolled catchment areas, which form a critical component of Tamil Nadu’s assured water share.

Referring to Supreme Court rulings, the Chief Minister stated that upper riparian states are not permitted to undertake any activity that adversely affects the scheduled water releases to downstream states. He argued that the Mekedatu project would directly violate this established legal principle governing inter-state river water sharing.

Vijay also cited observations of the Environment Ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee, which in 2019 had returned Karnataka’s proposal for environmental assessment, pointing out unresolved inter-state disputes that needed to be settled before any further consideration.

According to him, proceeding with the project at this stage would not only contravene judicial directions but also violate environmental regulatory norms, making it legally and procedurally untenable.

Seeking urgent intervention, the Chief Minister requested Prime Minister Modi to direct the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Central Water Commission to reject Karnataka’s Detailed Project Report on Mekedatu. He also urged that Karnataka should not be allowed to proceed further without obtaining explicit consent from all co-basin states, including Tamil Nadu.

He emphasised that protecting Cauvery water rights was crucial for sustaining agriculture, ensuring drinking water security and safeguarding the livelihoods of millions of farmers across Tamil Nadu’s delta and other dependent regions.

The issue is expected to intensify inter-state discussions on water sharing as both states continue to stake competing claims over the river’s limited resources.

Team Maverick