What is the Mekedatu Project?

About Mekedatu Project:

• It is a multi-purpose (drinking water and power) project proposed by Karnataka, which involves building a balancing reservoir near Kanakapura in Ramanagara district, Karnataka.
  • It is about 90 km away from Bengaluru and 4 km ahead of the border with Tamil Nadu.
• The project is proposed at the confluence of the Cauvery River with its tributary Arkavathi. 
• The plan involves building a 99-metre-high, 735-metre-long concrete gravity dam, an underground powerhouse, and a water conductor system.
• The expected capacity of the dam is 66,000 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water
• Once completed, it is expected to supply over 4 TMC of water to Bengaluru city for drinking purposes. 
• The estimated cost of completing the project is around Rs 14,000 crores, covering an area of over 5,000 hectares.
• Issue:
  • Tamil Nadu, the lower riparian state has claimed that the project is against the interest of the state’s water requirement.
  • Tamil Nadu says, Mekedatu area represents the last free point in Karnataka from where Cauvery water flows unrestricted into Tamil Nadu, and Mekedatu dam project is an attempt by Karnataka to lock this free flow of water. 
  • The lower riparian state has to give its no-objection for any project that comes up on the Cauvery as per the Cauvery tribunal and Supreme Court order.