Bengaluru: The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the implementation of Mekedatu drinking water project will be readied by June first week. It will be sent to the Central Water Commission and Ministry of Environment and Forests, for approval, said Water Resources Minister M.B. Patil yesterday.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, the Minister said that the Department was preparing for DPR by collecting photos of the project and mapping the area through aerial surveys.

Listing the advantages of the Rs. 6,000 crore Mekedatu hydro-electric project, he said that the Government hopes to provide drinking water to two-thirds of Bengaluru and Karnataka was fully within its rights to go ahead with it.

“The project does not violate Cauvery Water Tribunal award, which allows us to use 190 tmcft of the river water and generate around 400 MW power from it,” he said. Noting that there were no reservoirs below the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) and Kabini dams in the Cauvery basin, he pointed out that this let a lot of the river water flow directly into the sea during monsoon, when it could be stored.

The construction of the balancing storage reservoir at Mekedatu would not only prevent this colossal wastage but also help Tamil Nadu as Karnataka would be able to comfortably release water to it every month as prescribed by the Supreme Court, the Minister said.

The reservoir can store 67 tmcft of water. While the State Government does not anticipate any problems with the Central Water Commission and the Supreme Court on its plans to build the reservoir and intends to keep them fully informed on its progress, it is trying hard to convince Tamil Nadu that it will serve its interests as well.