Total project cost will be Rs. 5,900 crore

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has submitted a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Mekedatu project to Central Water Commission (CWC) on taking up the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir and drinking water project in the Cauvery Basin.  As per the DPR, the total project cost will be Rs. 5,900 crore, sources said.

Earlier the CWC, nodal agency of the Union Ministry of Water Resources, had cleared the pre-feasibility report submitted by the Karnataka government and asked the State to  prepare the DPR.

In its report to the Centre on Friday, the Karnataka government has proposed to build a balance reservoir at Mekedatu across River Cauvery. The  project not only helps to store excess water generated in Cauvery basin in Karnataka, but also produce electricity.

If the CWC gives its approval for DPR, then it will be sent to the Ministry of Forest and Environment and Climate Change for green clearance. Tamil Nadu has been opposing the project alleging that it will deny Cauvery river water to it. However, Karnataka has been claiming that Mekedatu project falls within the territorial limits of Karnataka and therefore, there were no legal impediments for Karnataka in constructing the reservoir.

Tamil Nadu had filed a petition in the Supreme Court opposing the project. The Apex Court which refused to grant a stay for preparing DPR, has issued notices to the Water Resources Ministry, Karnataka government, seeking reply to Tamil Nadu.

According to sources, the project could be completed in 2-3 years after the commencement of the construction if all approvals and assessments are in place. The project, first proposed in 2013, received Cabinet approval in February 2017 and a modified pre-feasibility study was submitted to CWC in October 2017. The CWC gave in-principle approval for preparing DPR last month and the total area to be submerged is about 4,995 hectares.

The CWC recently gave in-principle clearance to Karnataka to submit DPR for the project conceived to provide drinking water to Bengaluru and Ramanagaram districts, besides generation of power.

This will also be the first major project in the Cauvery basin after over four decades. The last big reservoir was across Kabini in H.D. Kote taluk of Mysuru district in the mid 1970s.