The day after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa met Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding that Karnataka halt the Mekedatu drinking water project as part of her political strategy, Karnataka on Wednesday retorted they would go ahead with the project which gives drinking water to seven parched districts of the State.

Karnataka Water Resources Minister MB Patil said the State would go ahead with the drinking water project to parched districts as per the plan.

He said "We have decided to go ahead with the Mekedatu project which is aimed at utilising our share of water in river Cauvery for supplying drinking water to parched districts."

Referring to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa s demand to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to halt the  Mekedatu project, Patil said that she had been protesting against the project since beginning and this is not the first time she complaining to the PM.

"The blue print of the project is ready and will be, in all possibility, be placed in the next Cabinet for approval. We will also inform the Supreme Court about Mekedatu project and the matter was recently discussed with Senior Supreme Court lawyer Fali Nariman, who is appearing in the Apex Court on Cauvery water issue", he said.

Patil said that the Central Water Commission will also be informed about the project.  "We are going ahead as per law and we are utilising our share for drinking purpose and it will not affect Tamil Nadu in anyway," he added.

After securing renewed mandate in last month’s assembly elections J Jayalalithaa met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday and presented a list of demand which are seen with overt political tones.

Jayalalithaa has raised the point of inter-state water issues. Specifically, she urged the Prime Minister to constitute the Cauvery Management Board (CMB). This demand directly asking him to prevent Karnataka  from building a dam across the Mekedatu near Bengaluru.

In fact Supreme Court in 2013 had blasted  Tamil Nadu on its aggressive eagerness to have the CMB constituted after the river tribunal’s final award.

Supreme Court, in 2013, had said that Tamil Nadu government’s  pprehension, that the project being considered by Karnataka will affect water sharing is “misplaced and misconceived”.

“Why are you obsessed with the boardIJ We have made ad-hoc arrangement. If it is not working then we are here to look into,” the Supreme Court had told the Tamil Nadu government.