COIMBATORE: In what is sure to raise political heat in Tamil Nadu, which could singe the Congress’s State unit in particular and the TVK-led government by extension, a delegation of farmers who visited the proposed site for the controversial Mekedatu dam site found that the government in the neighbouring Karnataka has already begun survey to set up the dam despite the objections raised by Tamil Nadu.

Speaking to the media in Hosur after inspecting the Mekedatu area along with a team of fellow farmers, PR Pandian, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Association, claimed that survey markers had been installed at the site.

“Iron rods have been planted on rocks along the riverbed to mark survey points, and newly constructed steps now provide public access to the riverbed. The site, which was previously out of bounds for the public, has also been opened to tourists with bus services. These developments appear to be a deliberate attempt to normalise and justify the proposed dam project,” he alleged.

Pandian urged the Tamil Nadu government to initiate contempt of court proceedings against Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar for spreading misleading information regarding the project and the legal status of the dispute.

Referring to the project's approval process, Pandian said the Central Water Commission (CWC) had granted Karnataka permission to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) in 2018, which was submitted by the then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in 2021.

“The proposal was subsequently forwarded to the Cauvery Water Management Authority, which returned it to the Central Water Commission without taking it up for discussion. The CWC has neither rejected the proposal nor returned it to Karnataka, and it continues to remain pending,” he said.