The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : No option but to move Supreme Court: Jayalalithaa

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 08, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

No option but to move Supreme Court: Jayalalithaa

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, APRIL 7. The Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, told the Assembly today that the State Government had no option but to move the Supreme Court for getting its full share of Krishna water from Andhra Pradesh.

Intervening in the debate for the demands for grants of the Municipal Administration and Water Supply department, she said the State had been allotted 15 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft). With three tmc ft lost through evaporation and seepage, the net realisation would be 12 tmc ft. Since the commissioning of the Krishna water supply project for Chennai, Andhra Pradesh had never supplied in a year Tamil Nadu's share of 12 tmc ft "They have been releasing water only in small quantities. They have not supplied us one-half or even one-fourth of our due."

Ms. Jayalalithaa said whenever she visited Andhra Pradesh, she had broached the issue with her counterpart and several meetings took place between the Chief Secretaries of the two States.

To the Congress member, K.R. Ramasamy's query on the realisation of Krishna water this time, the Local Administration Minister, K.P. Anbalagan, said about 2.7 tmc ft had been received.

Desalination plant

Reacting to Mr. Ramasamy's observation on the desalination plant project, the Chief Minister said that bid documents had been received after floating global tenders. A technical consultant had been appointed to evaluate the bids and given 60 days for the purpose. "Once the consultant gives the report, action will be taken up immediately."

Parambikulam-Aliyar project

To a query by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's deputy leader, Durai Murugan, on how much water the State had given to Kerala under the Parambikulam Aliyar Project, the Public Works Minister, O. Paneerselvam, said that of 7.25 tmc ft due to the neighbouring State, 1.5 tmc ft was yet to be given.

Declining to accede to the request of M.P. Saminathan (DMK) for releasing water to the Uppar dam, he said that the present available water under the PAP system was only 1.29 tmc ft. The III zone of the system required 2.9 tmc ft for irrigation till the end of May. "Besides, Kerala is to be given 1,500 mcft more at Manacadavu."

Increase in pay

Ms. Jayalalithaa announced that panchayat full time clerks would hereafter get every month a consolidated pay of Rs. 2,000 instead of Rs. 1,800, while the salary of part-time clerks would go up from Rs. 800 to Rs. 1,000. The pay of overhead tank operators would rise from Rs. 400 to Rs. 600. For every additional overhead tank, the wages would be hiked from Rs. 150 to Rs. 200. Also, the pay of conservancy workers in panchayats would be enhanced from Rs. 400 to Rs. 600.

In response to the request of Mr. Durai Murugan and C. Gnanasekaran (Congress), she also announced that an additional sum of Rs. 5 crores had been sanctioned for water supply schemes in the Vellore district.

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