Bengaluru, Nov 8 : Seeking implementation of Mekedatu project across river Cauvery, the Karnataka Congress has decided to organise a 100-km padayatra from Mekedatu to Bengaluru in the first week of December.

The purpose of the demonstration march is to highlight the lackadaisical attitude of the state and central governments in pursuing the project, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar said.

“The date will be finalised soon,” Shivakumar said at a press conference also attended by Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah.

In 2013, the Congress government had announced the Mekedatu project at the cost of Rs 5,912 crore to ensure drinking water to Bengaluru and neighbouring areas and also to generate 400 MW power.

The previous coalition government, in which the Congress was an allied partner to the Janata Dal Secular, had sent the Detail Project Report (DPR) to the central government and it was accepted.

Therefore, Shivakumar said the government has the right to start work and also there were no restrictions from the Supreme Court. Only an environmental clearance from the central government is required, he added.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai appears to be under political pressure and lacks the political will to implement the project, he said.

Joining the issue, Siddaramaiah said the march should not be linked to the 2023 assembly elections.

Earlier, Bommai said the government was waiting for the Centre’s approval to the DPR submitted by the state to construct a dam across the disputed site.

Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in Lok Sabha had said that the DPR submitted by Karnataka to build the dam needs approval of the Cauvery Water Management Authority.

He also said if Karnataka feels that it has reached a consensus, it should be brought to the notice of the Cauvery Water Management Authority and seek its permission.

Karnataka should also wait for a response from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests over approval of its DPR concerning the Mekedatu plan, he had said.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has been notified to review Karnataka’s application and its reply is awaited, Shekhawat had said.

Bommai has also said the Centre’s approval was conditional and required the consent of the lower riparian states of the Cauvery basin.

Karnataka has also made it clear to the DPR that it needs the permission of the lower Tamil Nadu and Puducherry governments, he said.(UNI)