Tamil Nadu Congress leaders challenge DK Shivakumar’s push for Mekedatu dam

The Mekedatu dam dispute has set Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka against each other. As Tamil Nadu parties pressed Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to oppose the project, Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar insisted his government would proceed.

The latest exchange followed Shivakumar’s appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, November 13 to help Karnataka secure the remaining clearances for the proposed balancing reservoir across the Cauvery. Speaking at an event in Mysuru attended by Modi, Shivakumar said the Supreme Court had delivered a clear verdict on the project and asserted that no one could stop Karnataka from building the dam.

The Mekedatu project envisages a balancing reservoir across the Cauvery in Karnataka’s Ramanagara district, now part of Bengaluru South. It is intended to meet Bengaluru’s drinking water needs and generate 400 MW of electricity. Karnataka says the project will not affect Tamil Nadu’s allocated share of water, while Tamil Nadu has consistently opposed it over concerns about downstream water availability, particularly for agriculture in the delta.

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president and Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore sharply criticised the remarks, saying the project threatened the state’s water rights and the livelihoods of farmers in the Cauvery delta. In a post on X, he accused Shivakumar of disregarding the Supreme Court’s directions and the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.

Manickam said Karnataka, as an upper-riparian state, could not unilaterally take up a project that could affect the water rights of Tamil Nadu, which lies downstream. He urged the Union government not to grant any clearance without the consent of lower-riparian states, and said approval without Tamil Nadu’s consent would severely affect farmers in the delta districts.

“On behalf of the Tamil Nadu Congress, we will never allow this project; we will go to any lengths to fight to protect our state’s rights,” Manickam said. Speaking to reporters in Thanjavur on November 14, he appealed to Modi to intervene and stop the project, arguing that it could turn the fertile Cauvery delta into a desert.

Manickam said the Tamil Nadu Congress would continue to oppose the dam despite the Congress being in power in Karnataka. He also urged the neighbouring state not to politicise the Cauvery dispute. Congress MP Jothimani echoed his position, saying Tamil Nadu was not asking Karnataka for a favour but seeking its rightful share of Cauvery water.

“What we have on Cauvery is a right. We are not asking or begging for anything from the government of Karnataka. We want to have a very strong relationship with neighbouring states. But that does not mean neighbouring states can undermine our rights. Cauvery is our right. There are millions of farmers in Tamil Nadu depending on Cauvery,” she said.

Shivakumar, however, dismissed the criticism and reiterated on Saturday that Karnataka would go ahead with the project. He said Tamil Nadu should send a delegation to Karnataka so that he could explain how the reservoir would benefit both states.

“Anyone is free to oppose it, but Tamil Nadu must recognise that this is our state and our right. If they wish, let them send a delegation. I am prepared to take them to the dam site and explain the project,” he said.

Shivakumar maintained that Karnataka would release Tamil Nadu’s stipulated share of 177 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of Cauvery water, as required under the Supreme Court’s order. He said the state would build the dam while ensuring that Tamil Nadu received its entitlement.

“We will build the dam and ensure that they receive their share. Protecting Karnataka’s water rights while ensuring that Tamil Nadu gets its due share is our responsibility. We will not back down when it comes to safeguarding the interests of our state,” he said.

He said Karnataka had sought forest and environmental clearances from the Union government and was preparing the necessary documents. The government was also addressing the requirement to provide compensatory land for the forest area that would be submerged, he said. Shivakumar added that all political parties in Karnataka supported the project.

The Tamil Nadu government has also opposed Shivakumar’s position. Law Minister CTR Nirmal Kumar accused the Karnataka Deputy CM of making controversial statements ahead of elections and said the Vijay government would not allow the project to proceed. He said Tamil Nadu had filed petitions in court and was pursuing stronger legal measures than previous governments.

“They cannot even lay a single brick for the Mekedatu project because they do not have forest approval or environmental clearance,” Nirmal Kumar said.

Stalin calls for concerted TN response 

The dispute has also prompted the DMK to demand a united political response. Party president and former Chief Minister MK Stalin wrote to Vijay on November 14, asking him to convene an all-party meeting to discuss Karnataka’s plans and formulate a common position.

Stalin described the Cauvery issue as a matter of “life and death” for Tamil Nadu and said the state government could not remain silent in the face of Shivakumar’s remarks. He argued that Karnataka’s political parties were united in backing the project and that Tamil Nadu’s parties should set aside their differences to defend the state’s water rights.

“Given the situation where the Karnataka Chief Minister has once again begun speaking aggressively about building the Mekedatu dam, the Government of Tamil Nadu must no longer remain silent. Therefore, I request through this letter that an all-party meeting be convened to express our unity and opposition to the Karnataka chief minister’s statements,” Stalin wrote.

He also proposed that leaders of legislative parties and MPs from Tamil Nadu meet Modi together and submit the resolutions adopted at the proposed all-party meeting, along with a unanimous Assembly resolution passed in June opposing the Mekedatu project.

Stalin questioned reports that Vijay was considering a visit to Karnataka to discuss the Cauvery issue. He said Tamil Nadu’s position should be pursued through legal means and recalled that he had earlier cautioned Vijay against such a visit, saying, “Do not run into this disaster.”

Other political parties in Tamil Nadu have also opposed the project. MDMK general secretary Vaiko said the Supreme Court’s 2018 verdict did not give Karnataka permission to construct the dam. BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran asked Vijay to take Manickam to Delhi and seek Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s intervention.

The VCK, an ally of the ruling TVK, also adopted a resolution urging the Tamil Nadu government to take up the issue with the Union government and pursue all measures to prevent Karnataka from proceeding without the state’s consent.

DMK leader and former Industries Minister TRB Rajaa questioned the Congress’s position, asking Rahul Gandhi to clarify whether the party would defend Tamil Nadu’s Cauvery water rights or support the Karnataka government’s project.