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CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Friday said his Karnataka counterpart B S Yediyurappa’s statement that Mekedatu dam would be built after getting the sanction of the Union government was unilateral and strongly condemnable.
“The Karnataka government should immediately give up its plan that goes against the interests of Tamil Nadu and against the Supreme Court order. The Union government should not grant permission for the dam construction. I register strong protests on behalf of Tamil Nadu,” Stalin said in a statement.
The chief minister said the state government had been opposing the scheme since the project would also reduce the quantum of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu as stipulated by the Supreme Court.
“The Tamil Nadu legislative assembly passed a resolution unanimously and the MPs of the state presented the resolution to the Prime Minister in March 2015, registering the protest. The state government’s plea against this new project is pending before the Supreme Court, and the state has also protested before the Cauvery water management authority,” Stalin said.
The chief minister said he urged the PM, during his meeting on Thursday in New Delhi, not to grant permission for the project.
Stalin said Karnataka chief minister Yediyurappa issuing a statement unilaterally was not conducive to the good relations between the states. “It is also an attempt to betray the farmers of Tamil Nadu and the state itself,” he added.
