The Tamil Nadu Parliament on Friday unanimously passed a special resolution opposing the Karnataka government’s efforts to build a dam across the Cauvery river at Makedatu.
The resolution, moved by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay soon after the Assembly convened on the second day of its session, received support from all major parties, including the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Congress.
The resolution opposes Karnataka’s unilateral efforts to build a dam across the Cauvery river at Mekedatu, and urges the Union government not to grant any clearances, including technical and environmental clearances, for the project.
“Mr. President, politics is for the people only, and this applies to all political parties. There may be differences in ideological positions, but when it comes to the problems faced by the people, every political party must stand firmly on the side of the people,” Vijay said while presenting the resolution.
He further said: “Our only desire is for this to be a democracy with conscience. It is our duty and our right to work today for our farmers and our people. Apart from everything else, this is our livelihood and our basic sentiment; water resources are one of our most important means of livelihood. River water rights are among our most vital rights. It is the responsibility of all of us to protect them.”
The resolution criticized the DK Shivakumar-led Karnataka government for pursuing the Mekedatu project without respecting the final judgment of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal on February 5, 2007, and the Supreme Court judgment of February 16, 2018.
“This House registers its strong opposition to the action taken by the Karnataka Government and it cannot be accepted in any form,” the resolution said.
It further pointed out that both the court and the Supreme Court had classified the Cauvery Basin as a deficit basin and had already allocated the basin’s waters among riparian states, making it impossible to implement new projects or use additional water within the basin.
Describing the Cauvery issue as an emotive matter for both the southern states, the resolution said: “This House urges the Union Government to inform the Government of Karnataka not to undertake any new dam or reservoir project at Makidatu or any other site in the Cauvery Basin without the approval of the other Basin State and the approval of the Union Government.”
The House also urged the Central Water Commission not to consider or give approval to the Detailed Project Report (DPR) submitted by Karnataka.
As requested by the Tamil Nadu government in its letter dated March 4, 2026, the resolution urged the Union government to constitute a new tribunal under Section 4 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956.
“This House unanimously extends its full support to all actions taken by the Tamil Nadu government to thwart this attempt by the Karnataka government and to protect the welfare of farmers in Tamil Nadu,” he added.
Supporting the decision, Congress MLA and legislative party leader S Rajesh Kumar said, “If this project designed to store 67 TMC water is implemented, the farmers of the Cauvery delta who are already struggling for water, will be severely affected.”
“The future of agricultural areas like Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai will be called into question. There is a serious threat that several parts of Tamil Nadu that currently receive drinking water through the Cauvery Combined Drinking Water Supply System will also be severely affected.”
He said the proposed project poses a threat not only to agriculture but also to the drinking water rights of people in Tamil Nadu.
“The Congress Party strongly condemns this unilateral action by the Karnataka government. The Congress Party will always stand firm in protecting the rights of Tamil Nadu farmers and safeguarding the livelihoods of the Cauvery delta farmers,” Kumar said.
“It is the firm and consistent stand of the DMK that it is not to build the Mukhedatu dam, which is trying to destroy the livelihood of Tamil Nadu. We must never allow the rights of Tamil Nadu to the waters of the Cauvery river to be violated,” Opposition Leader Udhayanidhi Stalin said.
“Today, the Prime Minister brought this resolution in response to Karnataka’s attempts to build a dam at Makidatu. We, the DMK, welcome this wholeheartedly,” he added.
Assuring that the DMK had consistently opposed the project, Stalin said, “As directed by our leader MK Stalin who was the then Prime Minister, the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department Secretary wrote a letter to the Union Ministry Secretary V Jal Shakti on 4.3.2026. In that letter, he stated that the Mekedatu case constituted a ‘new dispute’. Based on the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, we requested the Union government to constitute a new tribunal.
He requested that the resolution include an amendment urging the Union government to constitute a new court in line with the Tamil Nadu government’s request on March 4, 2026.
“This House urges the Union Government to constitute a new tribunal based on the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, as requested by the Government of Tamil Nadu in its letter dated 4 March 2026.”
Following Stalin’s request, Vijay said the amendment could be included in the resolution.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said it came to light that the Karnataka government, after the Center pointed out the discrepancies in the DRC, had submitted a revised report to the chief minister for environmental approval.
“It is highly condemnable that the present Karnataka government is working at full capacity to build a dam across the Cauvery river at Mekedatu, in a manner that is completely disrupting the good relations between the two states,” he said.
He said the actions of the Karnataka government in ignoring the final judgment of the Cauvery court and the Supreme Court ruling, unilaterally allocating funds for the dam, and submitting a revised report to the Center again this month, were “strongly condemnable”.
“On behalf of the AIADMK, we unanimously support the special resolution moved by the Prime Minister,” he added.
