TN CM attacks DMK over Cauvery issue

Team Udayavani, Jan 8, 2019, 1:50 PM IST

Chennai/ Bengaluru: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Monday lashed out at the DMK for not getting the Cauvery tribunal’s order on sharing of the river water notified in the gazette in 2007 when it was part of the then ruling UPA at the Centre.

The final award of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal should have been notified in the gazette within the mandatory 60 days, but DMK took no steps, he told the state assembly.

Intervening Leader of Opposition M K Stalin of DMK who raised the issue of Karnataka’s proposal to construct a dam at Mekedatu across river Cauvery, Palaniswami underlined his government’s commitment to uphold Tamil Nadu’s rights.

The state has filed a contempt plea against Karnataka in the Supreme Court for ‘violating’ its orders on the Cauvery dispute by proposing the new dam while the AIADMK MPs were stalling proceedings in Parliament over the issue, he said.

Tamil Nadu is strongly opposed to Karnataka’s proposal to construct a balancing reservoir at Mekedatu, saying it will affect the farmers in the lower riparian state.

The state assembly had recently passed a resolution urging the Centre to withdraw its permission to Karnataka for undertaking a detailed project report.

Seeking to turn the tables on the DMK, Palaniswami said the Congress-led UPA was in power with the DMK being a key constituent when the tribunal’s final award was given in 2007.

“Members of your party were (central) Ministers too. It was your government in Tamil Nadu as well. You failed to uphold the rights (on sharing of the river water) given to us in the final award… in those 60 days, you took no steps,” he said.

Detailing the steps take by his government against the Mekedatu project, he said it would support the Centre on projects that would benefit Tamil Nadu, but oppose schemes that were detrimental to its interests.

The 2007 tribunal award was notified by the Centre in February 2013 following a Supreme Court direction on a plea by the then Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK government.