Overview
- Karnataka leaders, led by D.K. Shivakumar, have said they will pursue statutory clearances and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for central help to secure forest and environment approvals that the state says are needed to build Mekedatu.
- Tamil Nadu ministers and party leaders have rejected Karnataka’s claim of unilateral right to build the reservoir and vowed to block construction, with DMK chief M.K. Stalin calling for an all‑party meeting to present a united state response.
- The dispute exposed a sharp split inside the Congress, with Karnataka leaders backing the proposal and Tamil Nadu Congress officials, including Manickam Tagore, condemning Shivakumar’s remarks and urging the Centre to refuse approval without downstream consent.
- Karnataka frames Mekedatu as a balancing reservoir to store surplus monsoon flows, supply about 4.75 TMC of drinking water to Bengaluru and produce hydropower, while Tamil Nadu warns of more than 5,000 hectares of submergence and harm to the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary.
- The project remains stalled on process: it needs Central Water Commission sign‑off and fresh forest and environment clearances after earlier objections, and the Centre’s decision could trigger further legal challenges, interstate negotiations, and impacts on Bengaluru’s water supply and delta farmers’ livelihoods.