Karnataka to formulate action plan to implement Mekedatu projec

Bengaluru, July 7 (IANS) Saying that the proposed Mekedatu balancing reservoir project was important for Karnataka, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said that Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa will discuss the action plan for the project with technical and legal experts by this weekend.Bommai told reporters that the CM has already held a short but crucial meeting in this regard where it was deliberated upon seeking various permissions and approvals required for the project with technical experts and future course of action with legal experts."During a meeting this weekend, we are going to discuss it in length with legal experts and irrigation experts besides bureaucrats concerned to chalk out strategies to formulate an action plan for this project," he explained.According to him this will formally be the first step towards formulating an action plan for this project.He added that at present only a miscellaneous application pertaining to the Mekedatu project was pending before the Apex Court.The minister stated that Mekedatu is indeed an important project for Karnataka as it will have a determining role in the management of the Cauvery water in future."The reservoir will play an important role in sharing Cauvery water during distress years," Bommai explained.The proposed Mekedatu is a balancing reservoir project across the Cauvery river. Mekedatu, meaning goat's leap, is a deep gorge situated at the confluence of the Cauvery river and its tributary Arkavathi in Kanakapura taluk of Ramanagar district.The project aims to store and supply water for drinking purposes for Bengaluru city. Around 400 megawatts (MW) of power is also proposed to be generated through the project. Karnataka had announced this project in 2013.The sharing of waters of the Cauvery river has been the source of a serious conflict between the two neighbouring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
--IANS nbh/bg