Karnataka urges Centre to fast-track wildlife clearance for Mekedatu drinking water project

The requested clearance covers survey and investigation work for the proposed Mekedatu drinking water project. Karnataka wants permission to drill 20 boreholes inside the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. It is not currently asking to divert protected forest land or construct the reservoir. The clearance matters because the proposed drilling site lies within a protected wildlife sanctuary.

The boreholes would provide geotechnical information for the proposed Mekedatu balancing reservoir and drinking water project. Karnataka submitted its proposal to the Union environment ministry on July 1. Chief minister D K Shivakumar asked Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav to have the National Board for Wildlife’s standing committee consider it and recommend early approval.

The Centre has requested additional information about Supreme Court petitions concerning Mekedatu. Shivakumar said Karnataka would provide those documents shortly. The investigation clearance would allow site studies, but separate approvals would still be needed before construction or any diversion of sanctuary land could proceed.

The 20 boreholes are intended for geotechnical investigations at the proposed Mekedatu project site. These investigations would provide information about the ground and geological conditions relevant to a balancing reservoir and drinking water project. The work is therefore about understanding whether and how the proposed site could support the planned structure.

Karnataka says the drilling is only for survey and investigation activities. The state submitted its proposal to drill across 0.0000352 hectares within the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. The boreholes would generate the technical information needed for planning the proposed reservoir, rather than directly creating the reservoir or changing water flows.

The results could inform later decisions about the project, but the article does not say that they would automatically lead to construction approval. Karnataka is currently seeking permission to investigate the site. It would still need separate decisions and approvals before building the reservoir or diverting protected sanctuary land.

The proposal covers 20 boreholes. Together, the drilling activities would cover 0.0000352 hectares within the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. These figures describe the scale of the requested investigation, not the size of the proposed Mekedatu reservoir or the wider drinking water project.

Karnataka submitted the proposal to the Union environment ministry on July 1. The state says the drilling is meant to obtain geotechnical information for the proposed Mekedatu balancing reservoir and drinking water project. The request concerns the investigation site and does not currently seek to divert protected forest land.

The limited area is important because the state is asking for permission for preliminary work rather than project construction. However, the article makes clear that the work is still inside a wildlife sanctuary. The Centre’s wildlife-clearance process therefore remains relevant, and the proposal must be considered by the National Board for Wildlife’s standing committee.

The drilling is proposed inside the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, so it involves work within a protected area. That location is why Karnataka has approached the Union environment ministry and the National Board for Wildlife’s standing committee, even though the immediate activity is only investigation. The article identifies wildlife clearance as necessary for this proposed work.

Karnataka’s proposal covers 20 boreholes across 0.0000352 hectares. The boreholes would collect geotechnical information for the proposed Mekedatu balancing reservoir and drinking water project. Karnataka has specifically clarified that it is not currently seeking to divert protected forest land or obtain approval to build the reservoir.

This distinction keeps the present request narrow, but it does not remove the sanctuary-related review. The Centre has also asked for documents about petitions pending before the Supreme Court concerning Mekedatu. Karnataka says it will provide the requested information, after which the wildlife proposal may receive further consideration.

Permission to investigate is limited to survey work at the proposed Mekedatu site. It would let Karnataka drill 20 boreholes and obtain geotechnical information for planning. That permission would not itself approve the balancing reservoir, the drinking water project, or any land diversion within the sanctuary.

The state’s representation to the Centre explicitly says the proposal concerns survey and investigation activities. Karnataka submitted a request covering 0.0000352 hectares inside the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. It says the proposal does not currently seek diversion of protected area land. The immediate goal is to understand site conditions, not to start construction.

Construction would be a later decision requiring the relevant project and environmental approvals. The article does not list every approval that might be needed. It does state that the Centre is examining the wildlife proposal and has requested documents about Supreme Court petitions linked to Mekedatu, making the current clearance only one step in a longer process.

Mekedatu is proposed as a balancing reservoir and drinking water project for Bengaluru. Wildlife clearance is needed before Karnataka can drill the planned boreholes inside the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. If that clearance is delayed, the state may not be able to complete the geotechnical investigations on its intended timetable.

Those investigations are meant to provide information about the proposed reservoir site. Without that information, later planning and approval steps could also take longer. The article says Karnataka is seeking permission to investigate, while separate approval would still be needed for construction or sanctuary-land diversion. This means the drilling clearance is an early step, not the final project approval.

The article does not quantify any possible delay or say that Bengaluru’s existing water supply would immediately be affected. It indicates that delays could slow progress toward the proposed project. The wider proposal also faces Supreme Court-related documentation issues and objections from Tamil Nadu over downstream Cauvery flows and water sharing.

Tamil Nadu’s objection concerns the project’s implications for downstream water flows and the sharing of Cauvery waters. Mekedatu is proposed on the Cauvery in Karnataka as a balancing reservoir and drinking water project. Because the reservoir would be upstream of downstream users, Tamil Nadu is concerned about how the project could affect water reaching areas farther along the river.

A reservoir can hold and release water, so its operations may influence the timing and amount of downstream flows. However, the article does not provide Mekedatu’s proposed operating rules, storage schedule, or projected effect on Tamil Nadu. It only records Tamil Nadu’s objection and connects it to downstream flows and Cauvery-water sharing.

The dispute adds a wider inter-state dimension to Karnataka’s clearance request. The Centre has asked Karnataka for documents about Supreme Court petitions related to Mekedatu. Karnataka says those documents will be provided shortly, while it seeks early consideration of the limited borehole-investigation proposal.