The Hogenakkal Water Dispute is a

conflict Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...

between the Indian states of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

and

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

over the implementation of Hogenakkal Integrated Drinking Water Project, whose foundation stone was laid in February 2008. The

Rs. Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

13.34 billion project envisages water supply to 4040,000 people in the fluorosis affected

Dharmapuri Dharmapuri is a special grade town in the north western part of Tamil Nadu, India. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Dharmapuri district which is the first district created in Tamil Nadu after the independence of India by splitti ...

and

Krishnagiri Krishnagiri () is a city in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, and it serves as the administrative headquarters of Krishnagiri District formed in 2004. It is located at the bottom of Krishnadevaraya Hills, and the town is fully surrounded by hill ...

districts of Tamil Nadu.

Background

Kaveri water dispute

Water from

Kaveri river The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dist ...

has been a bone of contention between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and its erstwhile

Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in South India, southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary allia ...

and

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

and thus a century old dispute. As part of several reconciliation measures taken to ease the crisis the Union Water Resource Ministry of

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

convened a meeting between the representatives of the states in which Governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu agreed on two projects, drinking water for Bangalore city in Karnataka drawn from KRS Dam and other in Hogenakkal in Tamil Nadu. According to the project, at a particular spot in the waterfall water from the Cauvery is to be drawn and distributed to people of Tamil Nadu. Karnataka agreed to abide by the conditions imposed by the Union Water Resources Ministry if Tamil Nadu withdrew its objections to Cauvery water being used to augment supply to

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

for which Tamil Nadu had voiced objections but Tamil Nadu later withdrew its objections to Karnataka using its share of Cauvery water for supply to Bangalore. The project was put on hold after widespread protests in Karnataka.

Hogenakkal island (unnamed) ownership dispute

Hogenakkal is part of Koothapadi

panchayat The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical ment ...

village within the

Pennagaram Pennagaram is a town in Dharmapuri district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of Pennagaram taluk (sub-district). Geography Pennagaram is located at . It has an average elevation of 493 metres (1617 feet). The ...

sub-district of Dharmapuri district., but the ownership of a piece of an uninhabited island near the waterfalls is contested by Karnataka and this further strains the relationship between the states.Time of India – Hogenakkal issue: Karnataka BJP wants Centre to intervene
/ref>
/ref>

Karnataka perspective

Karnataka is opposed to the project on the grounds that its share of the Kaveri waters will be affected and that the picturesque waterfall belongs to it (based on erstwhile topographical map of

), thereby alleging that the drinking water project at Hogenakkal is illegal.

Tamil Nadu perspective

The Hogenakkal project was approved in 1998 by Union government of India. The project just like the Bangalore project an extra demand on the neighbouring state for Cauvery water since each state would use its share
The Hindu – Karnataka gave consent in 1998 to Hogenakkal project: Tamil Nadu

Timeline

* May 1997 – States of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu agree on two projects to be set for both power and irrigation, with one in

Mekedatu Mekedatu is a location along Kaveri in the border of Chamarajanagar and Ramanagara Districts. From this point, about 3.5 kilometers downstream, the river Kaveri flows through a deep and narrow gorge. Mekedatu' means 'goat's leap' in Kannada. ...

in Karnataka and other in Hogenakkal in Tamil Nadu.The Indian Express- Cauvery water talks caught in local politics
/ref> * 26 February 2008 –

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the chief executive of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with th ...

M. Karunanidhi Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018) was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He was popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Art ...

laid the foundation stone for the project. * 16 March 2008 –

Chief Minister of Karnataka The chief minister of Karnataka, formerly known as the chief minister of Mysore, is the chief executive officer of the government of the Indian state of Karnataka. As per the Constitution of India, the governor of Karnataka is the state's ''de j ...

B.S. Yeddyurappa Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa (born 27 February 1943), often referred to by his initials BSY, is an Indian politician currently serving as the member of the Bharatiya Janata Party Parliamentary board committee since 17 August 2022, t ...

organised a protest at Hogenakkal against the project. * 27 March 2008 – the Tamil Nadu Assembly adopted a resolution, urging the Centre to extend "full cooperation and help" in executing the project. * 31 March 2008 – Karnataka state government requested Tamil Nadu to stop all development projects at Hogenakkal. It sought Central Government's intervention to resolve the controversy. * 2 April 2008 – Widespread protests across Karnataka against the project. * 5 April 2008 – Chief Minister Karunanidhi announced that the project would be put on hold until a new government assumes charge in Karnataka.Indian Express: TN Govt puts Hogenakkal project on hold
/ref> * 17 June 2008 – unit office of the Hogenakkal water supply project was opened at Oddapatti near Dharmapuri .

References

{{reflist

External links

Sify – Falls Alarm – Hogenakkal: Old war, new battle
1990s in Tamil Nadu 1990s in Karnataka 2000s in Tamil Nadu 2000s in Karnataka Inter-state disputes in India Water disputes in India