State Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan on Wednesday criticised the Karnataka government for trying to build a dam in Mekedatu and said that the States cannot claim sole ownership of rivers flowing within it.
Speaking to the reporters in Chennai upon his return from a meeting in New Delhi, Mr. Duraimurugan said that a wide-ranging Detailed Project Report is being allowed by the Central Water Commission even as the Karnataka government is bent on building the dam.
“I asked if this is fair. The [Union] Minister [at the meeting] said that just because a DPR is being allowed to be prepared, the dam cannot be built. There are thousands of issues and clearances required and said that the Union government will not keep quiet,” he said. He also said that a tribunal will be formed to look into the issue of dams being built across the Markandeya River.
