TN to move SC against K'taka on Pennaiyar river

The Tamil Nadu government on Monday said it will move Supreme Court against neighbouring Karnataka over the river Pennaiyar dispute.

PWD Minister K V Ramalingam told Tamil Nadu Assembly that Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had issued directions in this regard, after opposition DMK and Left parties moved a Special Call Attention on the situation arising out of Karnataka taking up some work regarding check dam on the river.

Jayalalithaa had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on March 27, seeking Centre's intervention to immediately stop Karnataka from carrying out work on any check dams or diversion structures across Pennaiyar river. "This act of Karnataka will affect the (water) flow in the river considerably and will severely affect the irrigation in Tamil Nadu depending upon the waters of the inter-state Pennaiyar river," she had said in the letter.

According to the 1892 Madras-Mysore agreement, Karnataka cannot take up any work without Tamil Nadu's consent and Jayalalithaa had written in May 2012 to the Prime Minister saying any check dams or diversion of water by the neighbour would be in violation of that agreement, Ramalingam said.

A committee of government officials has been set up to monitor the works taken up by Karnataka and the action was being taking based on that, he said.

Earlier, opposition members raised fears that Karnataka's action could harm five districts in Tamil Nadu - Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram and Cuddalore.