Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Tuesday said farmers might revolt if the Centre refuses to take into account Tamil Nadu and Puducherry’s objections to the construction of a dam across the Cauvery in Karnataka’s Mekedatu, PTI reported.

“The Centre had arbitrarily given its nod to the Karnataka government to prepare the detailed project report for the construction of the dam,” he said. “Both the central and Karnataka governments have been ignoring the implication of the dam as it would only worsen the availability of Cauvery water for the riparian states.”

Narayanasamy urged the Central Water Commission to immediately convene a joint meeting of the secretaries of the departments of public works and irrigation of the riparian states. Farmers will organise a big demonstration against Karnataka’s decision to build the dam if the meeting is not held, The Hindu quoted the chief minister as saying.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court rejected Tamil Nadu’s request to stay the Centre’s decision allowing Karnataka to prepare a report on the proposed dam. On December 5, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government filed a contempt petition against the Central Water Commission, Karnataka Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar, and others for allegedly violating the top court’s order on the dam’s construction.

Narayanasamy said that during a recent meeting in New Delhi he gave Union Minister for Water Resources Nitin Gadkari a copy of the Puducherry Assembly’s unanimous resolution against the Centre’s decision. The Tamil Nadu Assembly has also passed a unanimous resolution urging the Centre to withdraw the permission.

The Winter Session of Parliament, which began on December 11, has witnessed repeated adjournments due to protests by legislators from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on the matter.