The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : "Karunanidhi will decide"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

"Karunanidhi will decide"

T. Ramakrishnan

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi will decide whether to go back to the Supreme Court or continue with the negotiations on the Mullaperiyar dam issue, as Monday's negotiations failed to achieve a breakthrough, according to Durai Murugan, Public Works Minister.

The Minister told The Hindu over the phone from New Delhi that he had conveyed to Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz that he could not take a decision on this issue on his own.

[On Friday last, Mr Karunanidhi, in an interaction with journalists in Madurai, referred to Monday's negotiations and said that "if the talks do not benefit the State, we will have no other option but to approach the apex court immediately."]

The Minister said Kerala raised the issue of a new dam but was stoutly countered by Tamil Nadu. He argued that there was no necessity to discuss the issue as this was not on the agenda. Kerala had not raised it before the Supreme Court in the case relating to the dam safety.

Besides, the old dam, which had been strengthened after spending crores of rupees of public money could very well be regarded as a new dam, he said.

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