CHENNAI: In the backdrop of Karnataka having submitted documents for terms of reference (ToR) approval for the Mekedatu balancing reservoir and drinking water project to the Union Ministry of Environment, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to consider the project proposal.

In a letter,  Palaniswami requested the PM to instruct the Union Ministry for Jal Sakthi to advise the Central Water Commission to reject outright and return the detailed project report.  The Centre should not accord any clearance to the project without obtaining prior concurrence of the TN and other co-basin States, he said. 

Seeking the PM’s urgent personal intervention to deny permission to the proposal for grant of ToR for environmental clearance for Mekedatu project, the CM said, “This action of Karnataka in seeking environmental clearance for Mekedatu project is in utter violation of the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and the judgment of the Supreme Court dated February 16, 2018.”