The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : “Karnataka has no right to decide on water project implementation”

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Wednesday, Apr 09, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

“Karnataka has no right to decide on water project implementation”

Special Correspondent

L. Ganesan

VELLORE: Tamil Nadu State president of the Bharatiya Janata Party L. Ganesan has said that Karnataka has no right to decide whether Tamil Nadu can implement the Hogenakkal drinking water supply project or not.

Addressing a public meeting here on Tuesday night, Mr. Ganesan said that the statement of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi that the Tamil Nadu government has decided to put on hold the project till a popular government is formed in Karnataka after the forthcoming Assembly elections, amounts to creating an impression that Karnataka had a right to decide whether Tamil Nadu can implement the project or not.

He said that the project involves drawing Cauvery water at a point seven km into Tamil Nadu from Billigundlu, which is the ‘zero point’ (the border between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka). As per international norms, Tamil Nadu has a right to draw water from its side of the Cauvery river since the river divides the two States.

“The stand of the Tamil Nadu government should be that it would implement the project irrespective of which party comes to power in Karnataka,” he said.

The BJP leader said that the Tamil Nadu government need not sound apologetic while saying that it has decided to implement the project which had been cleared by the Central government and the Karnataka government in 1998 after a quid pro quo allowing Karnataka to implement the Bangalore water supply project and Tamil Nadu to implement the Hogenakkal project by drawing water from the Cauvery. In fact, Tamil Nadu was justified in opposing the Bangalore project since the lower riparian States can always question the upper riparian States when they implement river water projects, he said.

On the statement of former Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna that the remarks of Mr. Karunanidhi in the Assembly provoked the violent acts in Karnataka, Mr. Ganesan said that there was nothing provocative in what the Chief Minister said.

He condemned the act of the Tamil Nadu politicians including those of DMK in blaming the Karnataka BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa for the recent developments in the wake of the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to implement the Hogenakkal project. He alleged that the decision of Mr. Karunanidhi to defer the implementation of the project was the result of a pact between the DMK and the Congress.

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