India's Water Commission Returns Karnataka's Mekedatu DPR

The Central Water Commission has formally returned Karnataka's Detailed Project Report for the controversial Mekedatu dam and reservoir project, citing non-compliance with legal water-sharing agreements. The commission directed the state to submit a revised proposal after finding the current plan exceeded Supreme Court-mandated water allocations and relied on outdated data.

Official documents show the commission returned the report on June 29, instructing Karnataka to make suitable alterations. The commission's decision followed its examination of a compliance report Karnataka submitted on April 21, 2026, which was in response to queries on the original project report from 2019. The commission identified two major, unauthorized changes in Karnataka's revised proposal: the introduction of a new hydroelectric component called the Shivanasamudra Run-of-River Power Project and an increase in the proposed consumptive water use from 4.75 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) to 6.95 tmcft.

The commission's technical appraisal found serious flaws in Karnataka's justification for a reservoir with a live storage capacity of 59.46 tmcft. It noted the state's projection for Bengaluru's...