The Hindu : Kerala News : Water row: special Assembly session sought

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 11, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Water row: special Assembly session sought

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, NOV. 10. The Leader of the Opposition, V. S. Achuthanandan, has demanded a special session of the Assembly to discuss how an agreement was reached between Kerala and Tamil Nadu on giving excess quantity of water to the latter.

In a statement here today, Mr. Achuthanandan said the issue could not be reduced to the level of a dispute between the former and present Chief Ministers or between the Water Resources Minister, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, and his predecessor, T. M. Jacob.

`Publish documents'

The Minister himself had conceded that the State's interests in the matter had been compromised.

Hence, there was the need to publish all the relevant documents and hold a special session of the Assembly to discuss the issues involved, he said.

Poser to Antony

In a separate statement, the CPI(M) State secretary, Pinarayi Vijayan, asked the former Chief Minister, A. K. Antony, to clarify whether there was any truth in the allegation that his Government had compromised Kerala's interests on the question of river water sharing.

The Water Resources Minister's disclosure that the State had given in writing to Tamil Nadu an undertaking to provide additional 2.5 tmc ft. water in the event of the commissioning of the Idamalayar irrigation project getting delayed beyond four years needed a clarification, he said.

Since inter-State water was a subject directly under the Chief Minister, Mr. Antony had the duty to explain how the promise came to be made without the knowledge of the Assembly. The Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, also had the duty to explain how the core issues between the two States came to be bypassed at the Chief Minister-level talks held in Chennai, Mr. Vijayan said.

Loss worth crores

Addressing a news conference, the Janata Dal (Secular) secretary general, K. Krishnan Kutty, said the alteration in the agreement between the two States on the sharing of river water would result in the loss of water resources worth crores of rupees.

The proposal that the State should give additional quantity of water to Tamil Nadu was incorporated in the agreement between the States in the light of the proposal for setting up the Kuriarkutty-Karappuzha project.

Since no permission was forthcoming for the project, there was no need to accommodate Tamil Nadu's demand for more water, he said.

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