Overview
- Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asking him to direct the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Environment Ministry to suspend site inspections, technical evaluations and any statutory or administrative clearances for the Mekedatu project.
- Karnataka has portrayed Mekedatu as a 67.16 TMC multipurpose reservoir to supply Bengaluru and generate power, while Tamil Nadu says that capacity, sited just upstream of the inter‑state border, risks cutting the monthly Cauvery releases ordered by the tribunal and the Supreme Court.
- News reports say a Government of India team reportedly visited the Mekedatu site and Karnataka leaders met central ministry officials, but central authorities have not publicly confirmed those visits and Tamil Nadu treats the accounts as a sign of premature movement on the project.
- Tamil Nadu has pursued legal and legislative routes against Mekedatu, including a National Green Tribunal application, a Supreme Court writ petition challenging DPR guidance issued in December 2025 and a unanimous state assembly resolution demanding consent of co‑basin states before approvals.
- The dispute matters to farmers in the Cauvery delta because the 2026–27 deficit water year has already tightened supplies, and the immediate next steps to watch are a response from the Prime Minister, any formal ministry directives to halt actions, and further orders from the courts.