Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct the Union Jal Shakti Ministry and the Central Water Commission to reject Karnataka’s draft detailed project report for the proposed Mekedatu reservoir on the Cauvery river, saying the move violates the final judgment of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and the 2018 Supreme Court ruling.
Mekedatu’s proposal has once again highlighted the long-standing Cauvery dispute involving Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry over sharing of river water. With the legal and political fronts active, it will likely come back to central agencies and courts as states press opposing positions.
In his letter, Vijay said that Karnataka’s announcement of ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ and public statements by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar had caused “much anxiety” among thousands of Tamil Nadu farmers who depend on Cauvery water. He warned that construction of a new large storage reservoir is not permissible as the Cauvery basin is a deficit basin and 50% available water has already been allocated to state parties.
Vijay said that the Mukidatu project is not among the projects allowed by the court and that planning new projects across the Cauvery river or its tributaries, other than those specifically allowed in the final judgment of the court as confirmed by the Supreme Court, would amount to interference in the judgment. He also noted that the Supreme Court had ruled that the upper riparian state should not take any action affecting scheduled handovers to the lower riparian state, and argued that Karnataka’s proposal would violate that principle.
“The public statements of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in this regard have caused a lot of concern among thousands of farmers in Tamil Nadu, who depend on the Cauvery river for their livelihood,” Vijay said in his letter to Modi on Tuesday.
Tamil Nadu officials said Vijay had instructed legal and water management teams to take immediate action to protect the state’s rights and protect farmers. The state indicated that it had filed petitions in the Supreme Court opposing Mekedatu on November 30, 2018 and June 7, 2022. According to a Tamil Nadu government statement, the Supreme Court during the hearings on November 13, 2025 observed that the project was at a preliminary stage and said that the Central Water Commission, as the expert body, should determine whether the proposal falls within the ambit of prior judicial rulings before closing the cases. Tamil Nadu later filed a review petition on December 11, 2025, which was considered in chambers and later rejected, the statement said.
This issue sparked strong reactions in Karnataka, where the state government said it remains committed to the reservoir plan and is moving forward with preparing the required documents. Speaking to reporters, Shivakumar asserted that the state is preparing a new DPR and will go ahead with the construction of Mukidtu dam. “We are grateful on behalf of Karnataka, so let us move forward. It is the duty of the central government. We are already in the process of submitting the new DRC application, and we will go ahead with the construction of Mekedatu Dam,” he said.
Karnataka Congress MLA Ganiga Ravikumar dismissed Tamil Nadu’s political objections and defended the project, saying preparations for the DRC have been completed and the Supreme Court directed the matters to the Cauvery Water Board. “We are giving the people of Tamil Nadu their share of water. They have no right to stop us from building a dam in our place,” he said, adding that the political opposition would not stop the construction.
Farmer groups in Tamil Nadu have also raised the alarm. Representatives of the Coordination Committee of All Farmers’ Associations, led by B R Pandian, met State Minister K Sengottaiyan at the Secretariat and urged the government to seek an injunction against Mekedatu’s proposal. Pandian claimed that the DRC bill – reportedly prepared and introduced by Karnataka – would threaten drinking water for about 5 crore (50 million) people in 32 districts, turn 25 lakh (2.5 million) acres of land into “desert”, and displace farmers. He called for immediately strengthening the legal teams, filing an emergency lawsuit, and canceling any approval of the draft report that conflicts with the rulings of the court and the Supreme Court.
