Former PM Deve Gowda bats for Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir project

Bengaluru: Former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda on Sunday batted for the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir Project across the Cauvery river, which neighbouring Tamil Nadu has been opposing.

Tamil Nadu contends that the balancing reservoir will take away its share of Cauvery water and hence it has been opposing it.

In a press release, Gowda said the reservoir is necessary to provide drinking water to Bengaluru City and also regulated release of water to Tamil Nadu, including water release during lean periods.

Bengaluru is India's IT capital and it is second Silicon City in the world after San Francisco, he said, adding that at present the capacity of Cauvery water supply to Bengaluru city is 18 TMC (Thousand Million Cubic Feet).

The population of Bengaluru as noted by the Supreme Court was 96 lakh in 2011 whereas its present population has touched a phenomenal 1.35 crore, Gowda noted.

He added that the projected population of Bengaluru metropolitan region for 2044 would be about three crore for which the water requirement by lifting from the Cauvery river would be about 72.40 TMC as assessed by Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB).

"Therefore, to meet the ever-growing demand for drinking water, it was decided to construct a balancing reservoir at Mekedatu site across river Cauvery near the border of Tamil Nadu," the JD(S) supremo said.

According to him, the pre-feasibility report of Mekedatu project was submitted to the Central Water Commission in April 2018 and CWC, after examination of the same, gave permission to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) in its letter dated November 22, 2018.

Accordingly, the DPR was prepared and submitted to CWC in January 2019 duly complying with its observations and norms.

The DPR has been sent by CWC to the Cauvery Water Management Authority for its consideration and approval, where it is pending for more than five years, Gowda pointed out.

The live storage capacity of the proposed reservoir will be 60 TMC only, the former prime minister said adding that Karnataka has already clarified that the project is not meant to be a storage reservoir but only a balancing reservoir contemplated for the supply of drinking water to Bengaluru City.

"There is no irrigation component under the project. In fact, Tamil Nadu will be benefitted substantially by this project as it will get regulated release of water instead of getting uncontrolled seasonal flood waters that may ultimately goes to the sea," Gowda noted.

He said he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to issue suitable directions to the Ministry of Jalashakti on September 23, 2023, to address this issue as top most priority.