The Union government, on Thursday in the Lok Sabha, reiterated the reply on the issue of Mekedatu dam it gave early this week in the Rajya Sabha. To this effect, the Court had cited the relevant clause in the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay had earlier taken exception to the Union Minister’s reply in the Rajya Sabha and shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to have the reply withdrawn. In his letter written on Tuesday, Mr. Vijay argued the project could not be evaluated “merely as an engineering proposal.” In another clause, the award “specifically prohibits” any upper riparian State from taking action affecting scheduled deliveries to lower riparian States, Mr. Vijay added.