Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday told the Assembly that her government would take all legal measures to uphold the rights of Tamil Nadu if the Karnataka government went ahead with its plan to construct Mekedatu dam in violation of the Cauvery Water Tribunal and without getting Tamil Nadu's consent.
Recalling Karnataka Chief Minster Siddaramaiah's Independence Day address proposing a dam at Mekedatu had caused a lot of concern among Cauvery delta farmers, Ms. Jayalalithaa recalled the resolutions passed in the Assembly against the construction.
She said Tamil Nadu, on November 18, 2014, had filed an interim petition in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to prevent Karnataka government from constructing Mekadatu dam or any other new dams against the final award of the Cauvery Water Tribunal. "The petition has also urged the Karnataka government to maintain a status quo till the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulatory Authority.
"Karnataka government in its letter on November 18, 2014 made it clear that would not construct Mekedatu dam without informing the Supreme Court. Again in a letter to the Tamil Nadu government on March 8, 2016, Karnataka had reiterated the same point. It has also intimated the Supreme Court about its stand," said.
