CHENNAI: An all-party delegation from Tamil Nadu will leave for New Delhi on Thursday afternoon to convey to the Union government the state’s opposition to the Karnataka government’s plan to build the Mekedatu dam across River Cauvery near the inter-state border.
“The delegation will meet Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday,” a government source told TOI. Meanwhile, Puducherry chief minister N Rangasamy announced that the Union Territory would oppose the dam.
The Tamil Nadu government invited representatives of 13 parties, including the DMK, AIADMK, Congress, BJP, PMK, MDMK, CPI, CPM and VCK, to represent the delegation. “We will convey our strong opposition to the project. The Cauvery is the lifeline of delta farmers, and the state has every right over the river. The AIADMK already extended full support to the state government and took part in an all-party meeting that passed a resolution against the project,” said former AIADMK minister D Jayakumar, who will represent the party.
The all-party meeting that took place on Monday passed three resolutions condemning the Karnataka government’s move and urged the Centre not to give clearances to the multi-crore project. No construction should be made in Mekedatu without the approval of the lower riparian states as per the Supreme Court order, it said. It resolved to present the resolutions to the Union government reflecting the sentiments of the people against the project.
Meanwhile, Rangasamy, who convened a meeting with public works minister K Lakshminarayanan and elected members from Karaikal and territorial officials, said he would write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shekhawat registering the territory’s objection to construction of dam by Karnataka government and urging them not to grant permission for the dam project. The Puducherry government too has expressed apprehension that the proposed dam would deny fair share of water to the territory thereby affecting fishermen in Karaikal, which is the tail-end of the Cauvery delta.
The PMK, an ally of the NDA, on Wednesday said the Centre should safeguard the interests of two states and not compel for talks. In a statement, party founder S Ramadoss expressed shock over Union jal shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat’s remarks in Bengaluru that the Centre would hold a meeting, even as the Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin rejected his Karnataka counterpart’s demand for bilateral talks.
