A veteran engineer from Tamil Nadu has mooted a proposal to build a dam in Rasimanal, Krishnagiri district, as an alternative for the contentious Mekedatu drinking water-cum-balancing reservoir project.

Envisaged with a capacity of 66 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft), the proposed dam will be upstream of the Mettur dam in Salem district. It can generate 360 megawatt (MW) of electricity and its operation can be handled by the Water Resources Department of Tamil Nadu. The total area of submergence will be around 106 sq. km, about one-third of which will lie in Karnataka.

“Apart from being a perfect alternative to Mekedatu, this project will provide a win-win situation to both States as this will cater to drinking water requirements of Bengaluru, while addressing our concerns about the availability of water for our farmers in the Cauvery delta,” says A. Stephen, former Chief Engineer in the now-abolished Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) and the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB).  

P.R. Pandian, a farmer-leader of the Cauvery delta, has been a strong votary of the Rasimanal dam project. 

As a senior government official, Mr. Stephen took part in several meetings convened by the Union Power Ministry during 2000-2010 to arrive at a consensus among States of the Cauvery basin on hydropower projects.  He recalls the National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC), a Central agency, had even identified the site in Rasimanal. In addition to this plant, the NHPC’s plan covered one more plant in Tamil Nadu — Hogenakkal (120 MW) and two plants in Karnataka — Shivasamudram (345 MW) and Mekedatu (400 MW).

The veteran engineer, who addressed a letter to Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay a few weeks ago, giving a brief outline of the project, suggests that the proposed dam project be implemented as a joint venture of the two basin States.