The Mekedatu dam project is back in limelight with the Supreme Court, on November 13, 2025, giving nod for the appraisal of a Detailed Project Report (DPR) by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and by the Central Water Commission (CWC).

The idea of the project proponent – the Karnataka government – is to impound 67.16 thousand million cubic ft (TMC) of water by building a ₹9,000-crore balancing reservoir at Mekedatu (which, in Kannada, means ‘goat’s leap’), about 100 km from Bengaluru. The project will have a 400 MW (megawatt) hydro power component too. In the Supreme Court’s 2018 judgment on the Cauvery dispute, Karnataka had been sanctioned an additional 4.75 TMC.