The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : “Amend Statute to nationalise inter-State rivers”

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Sunday, Dec 02, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

“Amend Statute to nationalise inter-State rivers”

Special Correspondent

Vaiko plea to Centre for protecting the water use rights of lower riparian States

VELLORE: Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Vaiko has urged the Centre to amend the Constitution to nationalise inter-State rivers in order to protect the water use rights of lower riparian States.

“They should be made national rivers just as national highways”. He also wanted the Centre to prevent Andhra Pradesh Government from laying the foundation for the check dam across the Palar river in Ganesapuram in Kuppam constituency.

Speaking at the end of the one-day fast observed by about 2000 MDMK volunteers at the junction of Officers’ Line and Fort Round here on Saturday to condemn the Central and Tamil Nadu Governments for their “failure” in preventing the Andhra Pradesh Government from going ahead with its proposal of constructing the check dam, Mr. Vaiko said the 1892 agreement between the States of Madras and Mysore, which covered 15 rivers including the Palar, had a provision that prevented any of the riparian State from constructing a dam without the permission of the other riparian States. Besides, Palar was one among the inter-State rivers included in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution. The Ninth Schedule states that the upper riparian State should not curtail the rights of the lower riparian State. “This being the case, why has not the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Government taken any action to prevent the Andhra Pradesh Government from going ahead with its proposal to lay the foundation for the check dam?”

Mr. Vaiko asked as to why Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi did not have the courage to tell the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the DMK would withdraw its support to the United Progressive Alliance Government if the Centre did not intervene and ask the Congress Government in Andhra Pradesh to drop its proposal to construct the dam.

S. Semmalai, AIADMK organising secretary who ended the fast by MDMK volunteers, wanted to know what Mr. Karunanidhi was doing for more than six months after his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy submitted all project details about the proposed dam to him on January 5, 2007.

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