TN wants Centre to resolve water disputes; DMK no to SC panel

The DMK government in Tamil Nadu today pitched for Central intervention in inter-state water disputes, as the party upped the ante on the Mullaperiyar Dam row with Kerala, saying the Supreme Court ruling appointing a committee was not acceptable to it.

“The Centre should intervene in any inter-state river dispute and hold discussions with chief ministers or engineers of the respective states and take appropriate action,” Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said after chairing a meeting of the DMK’s General Council, its top policy-making body.

Karunanidhi, whose party is an UPA ally, said Centre’s intervention was necessary for an amicable settlement of water disputes to ‘maintain national integrity and sovereignty’ and for ensuring cordial relationships among states.

“I have written to UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in this regard,” he said here.

Besides the Mullaperiyar issue, Tamil Nadu is entangled in the decades-old Cauvery water sharing row with Karnataka and is opposing construction of a check dam across Palar river by Andhra Pradesh.

To a query on Cauvery, he said the issue had been put on the back-burner after Karnataka moved the court against a tribunal verdict awarding 419 TMC ft water to Tamil Nadu.

In a move expected to intensify the row between the states, the DMK general council adopted a resolution saying there was no need for the state to nominate its representative to the apex court’s committee to examine safety aspects of the Mullaperiyar reservoir.