PMK Opposes New Mekedatu Tribunal, Urges Tamil Nadu Government to Withdraw Proposal
PMK leader says Tamil Nadu already holds a strong legal position and warns that a fresh adjudicatory mechanism could weaken the state's case against Karnataka's dam project.
Chennai, June 22: PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Sunday objected to the Tamil Nadu Assembly’s call for a separate mechanism to address the Mekedatu dam dispute, arguing that the state should rely on existing legal safeguards instead of pursuing a fresh adjudicatory process.
In a statement, he urged Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to revise the resolution adopted by the Assembly and remove the provision seeking a new tribunal before forwarding the document to the Union Government.
Anbumani said several farmers’ groups had expressed reservations over the proposal, maintaining that Tamil Nadu’s interests are already protected by previous rulings concerning the Cauvery water-sharing issue. According to him, pursuing another forum for dispute resolution could dilute the state’s established legal standing.
The PMK leader noted that earlier decisions by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and the Supreme Court require upstream states to obtain the consent of downstream states before undertaking major projects that could affect river flows. He contended that these rulings provide Tamil Nadu with a strong basis to challenge Karnataka’s plans for the Mekedatu project.
Warning against what he described as an avoidable legal complication, Anbumani argued that the state’s objective should be to enforce existing judgments through legal and political means rather than seek a new process that could create uncertainty.
He reiterated that political parties in Tamil Nadu remain united in opposing any move that could adversely affect the state’s water rights and called for the contentious provision to be removed through appropriate Assembly procedures before the resolution is sent to the Centre.
