The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to hear the Tamil Nadu government’s plea against Karnataka’s plan to construct the Mekedatu dam on the Cauvery river, Live Law reported.

A bench comprising Chief Justice BR Gavai, and Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria, said that Karnataka’s detailed project report was still under consideration by experts in the Cauvery Water Management Authority and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee.

The court said this process was taking place after considering Tamil Nadu’s objections and therefore, its petition was “premature”.

The Central Water Commission has also previously said that it would accept any project report only after approvals from the two authorities, The Hindu reported.

The bench said that Tamil Nadu could approach the Supreme Court again only after this stage.

It added that it did not “possess expertise” to rule on such matters and said these were “areas which are best reserved for experts”, PTI reported.

The court said that Karnataka was bound to release the water in line with the directions of the court and said that it would risk “committing contempt of the court” for failing to do so.

The Cauvery dispute

The project entails building a reservoir in a deep gorge at the confluence of the river Cauvery with its tributary Arkavathi in the Ramanagara district. The project aims to provide drinking water to Bengaluru and nearby areas and also to generate 400 megawatts of power. It is estimated to cost about Rs 9,000 crore.

Tamil Nadu has opposed the project, claiming that it will impede the free flow of water from the Cauvery into the state.

The distribution of Cauvery water has been a long-standing dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It dates back to two agreements in 1892 and 1924 between the erstwhile Madras Presidency and the Princely State of Mysore.

The Union government set up the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal in 1990, which delivered its verdict in 2007. The tribunal allocated 419 thousand million cubic feet of water per year to Tamil Nadu and 270 thousand million cubic feet of water to Karnataka.

However, this did not settle the dispute as both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka filed petitions to review the decision.

The Supreme Court in February 2018 asked the Centre to set up the Cauvery Water Management Authority within a month to implement the tribunal’s verdict.

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