Praveen Chakravarty, a Congress Rajya Sabha MP, said any construction of the Mekedatu dam must adhere to a 2018 Supreme Court judgment [1].

This legal requirement is central to the ongoing Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. As water scarcity intensifies during the 2026 Kharif season [4], the tension over river flow and dam infrastructure threatens to destabilize inter-state relations in southern India.

Speaking in an interview with India Today, Chakravarty said dam projects cannot proceed in isolation. He said the 2018 ruling makes construction conditional upon the directives of the Cauvery tribunal, and the consent of lower riparian states [1]. This position aligns with previous objections from Tamil Nadu, which has historically resisted guidelines that it believes compromise its water rights [2].

The dispute is exacerbated by severe environmental conditions. The Cauvery River flow reached a historic low during the first half of July 2026 [3], and current reports indicate that the delta region has not seen water for weeks while temperatures soar [3]. These conditions have left farmers in the delta region struggling during the current 2026 season [4].

Tamil Nadu's government has previously taken a hard line against federal guidelines regarding the basin. N. Anand, the Water Resources and Rural Development Minister for Tamil Nadu, said the state cannot accept guidelines that compromise its water rights [2]. This resistance was notably highlighted during opposition to Union guidelines on June 22, 2026 [2].

Chakravarty's comments, referencing statements made in the Indian Parliament, underscore the legal framework that governs the river. By tying the Mekedatu project to the 2018 judgment, he said that technical construction is secondary to the legal and diplomatic agreements between the sharing states [1].

“The Supreme Court's 2018 judgment makes any dam construction conditional on the Cauvery tribunal's directives.”

The insistence on the 2018 Supreme Court ruling indicates that the Mekedatu dam is not merely an engineering project but a legal trigger. Because the ruling requires the consent of lower riparian states, Tamil Nadu holds a functional veto over the project. As climate volatility increases the frequency of low-flow years, the legal battle over the Cauvery will likely intensify, shifting from political rhetoric to strict judicial interpretation of water-sharing quotas.