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Bommai to call all-party meeting over Mekedatu
The statement comes two days after the Bommai-led BJP government set aside ₹1000 crore for the Mekedatu reservoir-cum-drinking water project in the 2022-23 budget.
Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said that an all-party meeting will be held during the ongoing Budget session in the state assembly to discuss the contentious ₹1,000 crore Mekedatu project.
“The Union Water Resources Minister has been apprised of the significance of the Mekedatu project. An all-party meeting would be convened to discuss the issue during the ongoing Budget session of (the) state legislature. Later, we will leave for Delhi to discuss Mekedatu and major irrigation projects, including Krishna, with the Centre,” Bommai said in Hubballi.
The statement comes two days after the Bommai-led BJP government set aside ₹1000 crore for the Mekedatu reservoir-cum-drinking water project in the 2022-23 budget.
“Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir and Bengaluru Drinking Water Project will be implemented by getting required clearances from the appropriate authority of Central Government. For the implementation of this project, a grant of ₹1,000 crore will be provided in the current year,” Bommai said in his Budget speech on Friday.
Senior Janata Dal (Secular) or JD (S) leader and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy said the Union government is shirking responsibility by asking Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, who share a turbulent past over river Cauvery, to come to an amicable solution.
“Union Water Resources Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has said that Karnataka and Tamil Nadu should resolve the Mekedaatu drinking water project through a dialogue. With the Minister calling it a “dispute”, he has added the label “crisis”, to the project,” Kumaraswamy said in a post on Twitter.
To be sure, Tamil Nadu has opposed the project.
“Both National parties have begun an electoral game by raising the Mekedatu issue. BJP says that its government-sanctioned ₹1000 crore in the budget for the drinking water project while the Congress claims that the money was sanctioned because of their padayatra,” Kumaraswamy added.
The Congress had undertaken the padayatra from Kanakpura to Bengaluru over two phases, the latest being the ‘Namma Neeru, Namma Hakku’ (our water, our right) padayatra between February 27 and March 3, to add to the pressure of announcing the project.
The padayatra was also Congress’s attempt to mobilise support in the old Mysuru region of Karnataka and help set the ground for the 2023 assembly elections.
“We have become a chapter of history by walking together for our water-our right. Our stressing on our right, strong steps have given a rude awakening to the government. But only an eyewash will not be enough, and the government should demonstrate its will to implement the project soon,” the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) said on its official Twitter handle on Sunday.
