Experts warn new Mekedatu tribunal will turn state barren

TIRUCHY: The senior experts and farmers have cautioned the new TVK government that the formation of a new tribunal for Mekedatu as per the resolution passed on the Assembly floor will isolate Tamil Nadu.

The tribunal will only favour Karnataka, helping that state to go ahead with the dam project. It will also prevent Karnataka from releasing surplus water to Tamil Nadu, which the state has been doing for years.

Citing these facts, the farmers and experts have appealed that the Tamil Nadu government must put a strong legal fight with inputs of valid technical points to stop the project rather than seeking a tribunal to retrieve the rights on the Cauvery water.

As the dispute on the Cauvery water sharing between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka has been persisting for more than 50 years, the Union government formed the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT).

This tribunal had passed an interim order in 1991 directing Karnataka to release 205 TMC water. In 2007, the CWDT, in its final verdict, reduced the quantum of water to 192 TMC, but Karnataka had appealed in the Supreme Court seeking drinking water for Bangalore City.

The court favoured the Karnataka government and allowed it to acquire 4.75 TMC for Bangalore City, and thus, Tamil Nadu was allowed to get only 177.25 TMC water.

However, the Cauvery Delta region in Tamil Nadu requires water between 250 to 300 TMC to realise kuruvai, samba and thalady cultivation, and the allotment of 177.25 TMC is inadequate.

Although Tamil Nadu has been approaching the court for water, the Karnataka government is in the practice of releasing only surplus water after its four major dams are filled.

As per the official data, for the past 25 years, Karnataka released surplus water in 2005-06, 2007-08, 2018-19, 2022-23 and 2025-26 due to heavy downpour that had resulted in flooding and the water released during these years had flowed into the sea and wasted. The data also indicates that, out of the 25 years, Karnataka released 200 to 250 TMC of water for 11 years and 200 TMC for nine years, while drought conditions prevailed in Tamil Nadu for six years, during which Karnataka could release only 100 TMC.

Against this backdrop, Karnataka has planned to construct a dam at Mekedatu with a storage capacity of 67 TMC of water, considered one of the largest reservoirs in Karnataka, at an estimated cost of Rs 9,000 crore and has commenced work. This will restrict the release of surplus water, further worsening the situation in Tamil Nadu.

In such a scenario, the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a resolution for forming a new tribunal for Mekedatu to discuss the issue.

"The final verdict for Cauvery water was issued in 2007 but it was enlisted in the government gazette only in 2013 and this delay shows how, the union government showed step motherly treatment and thus, the formation of a tribunal Mekedatu would also further delay the verdict and by the time, Karnataka would take advantage in constructing Mekedatu dam as the Ministry of Jal Shakti gives priority only to Karnataka for political reasons and so the resolution on Mekedatu tribunal is likely to be suicidal for Tamil Nadu,” cautioned R Paranthaman, president, Senior PWD Engineers Association, Tamil Nadu.

Paranthaman suspected that someone from outside is misguiding the lawmakers of Tamil Nadu, and the tribunal would certainly isolate Tamil Nadu and bring a negative impact on the state.

“The Mekedatu dam is planned to be constructed to store the water flowing from Kerala also, and so, Tamil Nadu should stop the construction by all means to save the farmers,” Paranthaman said. He also stressed that Tamil Nadu has the rights over the rainwater from Mekedatu and Kabini.

While Cauvery V Dhanapalan, General Secretary, Cauvery Farmers Protection Association and President of Confederation of Tamil Nadu Farmers Associations, said that Karnataka concentrates only on perennial crops, which need water all through the year, and so, the state is very particular in constructing the Mekedatu dam for further storage of water.

“The rain water from Kerala flows to Tamil Nadu for around 32 km length and reaches Kabini, and the construction of a dam by Karnataka would pave the way for storing the water from Kerala, and more than 22 districts from Tamil Nadu dependent on Cauvery for drinking purposes would also suffer," he said.

Meanwhile, P Maniarasan, Coordinator of Cauvery Rights Retrieval Committee, claimed that the Karnataka government had already constructed Hemavathi, Harangi and Kabini dams across the Cauvery ‘illegally’ and the water supposed to be used by Tamil Nadu is stored in these reservoirs, and the new Mekedatu Dam would also store 67 TMC of water, which is larger than the already existing dams in Karnataka.

“Once the Mekedatu dam construction gets completed, the drinking water for at least 22 districts and irrigation for 12 districts, which cultivate around 26 lakh acres of land, would be affected. Out of the total population of Tamil Nadu, five crore people depend on Cauvery water for drinking purposes, and so it is everyone’s responsibility in Tamil Nadu to fight against the Mekedatu dam,” Maniarasan said.

Maniarasan also cited the resolution for a new tribunal for Mekedatu in the Tamil Nadu Assembly floor as a conspiracy, as it would never help Tamil Nadu but Karnataka, as there have been several past incidents.

“The State government should withdraw the proposal for a new tribunal, and the government should initiate legal proceedings for preventing the construction of the dam, and our members had burnt the copy of the resolution passed on the Tamil Nadu Assembly floor,” Maniarasan added.

Similarly, PR Pandian, president, Coordination Committee of All Farmers Association, charged that the resolution passed in the State Assembly was an irresponsible move.

“The farmers' associations have been urging the state government to file a case against the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), which is solely responsible for the issue and liable to find a solution and only the legal fight would find a solution. The new government should have sought the suggestion of experts and farmer leaders before resolving,” Pandian said.

WHAT TN GOT

Water quantity (including surplus) received at Mettur reservoir over the years:

Year TMC

• 2001-02 162.73

• 2002-03 93.52

• 2003-04 67.14

• 2004-05 164.00

• 2005-06 402.18

• 2006-07 235.93

• 2007-08 344.72

• 2008-09 203.75

• 2009-10 219.72

• 2010-11 202.17

• 2011-12 206.78

• 2012-13 69.71

• 2013-14 235.61

• 2014-15 208.10

• 2015-16 96.67

• 2016-17 61.08

• 2017-18 110.29

• 2018-19 371.53

• 2019-20 258.90

• 2020-21 204.25

• 2021-22 280.25

• 2022-23 657.57

• 2023-24 81.17

• 2024-25 290.84

• 2025-26 329.97