Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) chairman S.K. Haldar on Tuesday defended the Authority’s decision to refer back the Vennar sub-basin improvement project along with the Mekedatu balancing reservoir project to the Central Water Commission (CWC) for further action.
Mr. Haldar told The Hindu over phone that the move was based on a decision taken at one of the previous meetings of the Authority [held in December 2022] that “as a matter of principle,” both the Vennar and Mekedatu projects or any other project would be treated “on the same footing.” Besides, the CWC, with its multi-disciplinary machinery, was well equipped to examine any irrigation project from all angles.
Proposed by the Karnataka government, the ₹9,000-crore balancing reservoir at Mekedatu on the inter-State border envisages impounding of 67.15 tmc ft(thousand million cubic feet) and generation of 400 MW of electricity. The project concerning Vennar sub-basin in Cauvery delta of Tamil Nadu marks the second phase of an existing scheme, for which the State government has taken a loan from the Asian Development Bank. The first phase of the project was carried out during 2016-22. Estimated to cost ₹1,560 crore, the second phase aims at protecting coastal districts from cyclones; reduce flood risks that otherwise get worse by climate change; improve the distribution of water for irrigation and prevent seawater intrusion in the Vennar sub-basin.
