Karnataka Cabinet welcomes SC rejecting TN’s petition against Mekedatu project

Bengaluru, Nov 13 (PTI) The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court rejecting Tamil Nadu’s plea against the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir project.

Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state will proceed with the project after getting the green signal from the apex court.

Terming Tamil Nadu's plea as "premature", a bench comprising Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria on Thursday said the plan would be approved only after considering the objections of the state and the opinions of the expert bodies—the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) and the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).

"There was joy in the Cabinet meeting. We had been pursuing the Mekedatu project. We took out a march, fought a political and legal battle. Today the Supreme Court has rejected the petition filed by Tamil Nadu. With that, we now got the green signal to proceed with that Mekedatu project," Patil said.

He added that the Cabinet hailed CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar who pursued the matter vigorously. PTI GMS GMS KH