Mandya, 31 October

Chief Minister DK Shivakumar reaffirmed his government’s intention to build the Mekedatu mega dam on the Cauvery near his Kanakapura constituency. 

Speaking to the press near the PES College Helipad in Mandya on Saturday, he said that 2,500 acres of land would be needed for building the proposed Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir, out of which the government would need to acquire 500 acres of land from farmers.  

“Details of the compensatory land being offered for the project will be recorded on the Forest Department's portal,” he said and urged the Central Government to grant approval “promptly”. 

“Land acquisition will begin after clearance is received," he said, adding that the process of exchanging land has “commenced” and the project was in a “decisive stage”.

Shivakumar said he had met concerned Ministers to obtain clearance from the Centre and that he hoped this would come by the next Budget. He has earlier said that the State government would provide additional funds for building the dam when it presents its 2027-2028 Budget. 

‘WILL HELP WATER SHARING’

His renewed push to build the dam on the Cauvery has caused friction with downstream Tamil Nadu, which claims that such a project would leave farmers on the Cauvery Delta with barren lands. 

Shivakumar countered such worries, saying that “the primary objective of the Mekedatu project is to store and properly manage Cauvery water during distress situations. The project will have a storage capacity of 66 TMC of water”.

Shivakumar noted that the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and the Supreme Court have ruled that 177 TMC of Cauvery water must be released annually to Tamil Nadu, and said that in “crisis situations”, such as the drought both states are facing, “the Mekedatu project will help” in water sharing. 

He also said that “farmers in the Cauvery basin, including Hemavathi, Harangi, and Kabini, will benefit from” the project. 

This is a notable contradiction from his and his ministers’ previous statements. They had publicly claimed on several occasions throughout the year that water from the Mekedatu dam would primarily be used for Bengaluru’s drinking water needs. 

“Not a single bucket of water (from Mekedatu dam) will be used for irrigation,” Shivakumar had said, according to an 18 June government release, adding that it would also be used for energy. 

Shivakumar also said that during his tenure, his government had successfully convinced the Supreme Court about the importance of the dam. 

"Mandya means Cauvery,” he declared. “The life of Mandya district is intertwined with Kannambadi Dam (KRS) and agriculture. Hence, maximum emphasis has been given to irrigation projects."