Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday urged his Karnataka counterpart BS Yediyurappa not to pursue the Mekedatu project as it would ‘would impound and divert the first component of uncontrolled flows of the Cauvery river into Tamil Nadu’.

“The proposed Mekedatu project would impound and divert the first component of uncontrolled flows due to Tamil Nadu, which is the flows coming into the river Cauvery from the uncontrolled catchment of Kabini sub-basin downstream of Kabini reservoir, the catchment of the mainstream of Cauvery river below Krishnarajasahara, uncontrolled flows from Simsha, Arkavathy and Suvernavathy sub-basins and various other small streams,” Stalin wrote in a letter to Yediyurappa.

Yediyurappa had written to Stalin on Saturday requesting him not to oppose the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir project across the Cauvery river, the sharing of whose waters has been a long-standing point of friction between the two states.

Responding to the same, Stalin said that the comparison of the project intended for storing 67.16 TMC water with the two hydro power projects of Tamil Nadu would not be correct.

“At the very outset, there is no consumption of water in these two hydro power projects, with the available water being just re-circulated by pumping to meet peak power demand. Since there is no additional usage created, both the projects do not affect the availability of water for irrigation or drinking usage in Tamil Nadu,” the chief minister said.

Stalin also mentioned the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, which has been modified by the Supreme Court– the three components contributing to the annual quantum of water to be delivered by Karnataka at the inter-state contact point have been clearly identified.

“Therefore, the view that the implementation of the Mekedatu project would not affect the interests of Tamil Nadu’s farming community cannot be agreed to by us”, CM Stalin stated.

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“Further, when Karnataka already has adequate infrastructure for drawing drinking water to meet the demand of Bengaluru Metropolitan area even now, the justification of the need for a reservoir with a storage capacity of 67.16 TMC to utilize 4.75 TMC as drinking water is not at all acceptable. This would definitely jeopardize the availability of water to Tamil Nadu”, he added.

Tamil Nadu has been opposing the Medekatu project on the grounds that it will lead to a reduction in the quantum of water from Cauvery to the state awarded by the supreme court and that it was against its farmers.

Last month, Stalin reiterated his government’s opposition to the project and said that it was inimical to the interests of the state’s farmers.

Stating that the share of Tamil Nadu had been fixed by the court, Stalin asserted the optimal utilisation of the state’s share hinges only on efficient water use and claimed that the efficiency of irrigation in the Cauvery system in the state could not be improved much since litigation was on for long and also that many old structures needed modernisation and improvements to increase the water use efficiency.

“Unless these works are carried out, it would be impossible for us to meet the water demand at the rate of supply stipulated in the order of the Hon’ble Court. I request you to consider the above facts and the sensitivity of these issues and strongly urge you not to pursue the Mekedatu project”, CM Stalin added.