Will not compromise on rights on inter-state Palar river; TN

: The Tamil Nadu government Tuesday asserted that it would not compromise on its rights on the inter-state Palar and said it has asked Andhra Pradesh not to take up construction of 30 new check-dams on the river.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami said the state has asked the Andhra Pradesh government not to approve the construction of 30 check-dams, pointing out that court cases on similar issues were pending in this connection.

According to the Madras-Mysore Agreement of 1892, Palar is an inter-state river and the upper riparian state cannot take up such activities without the consent of the lower riparian ones, he said.

The DMK and Congress raised the issue of Andhra Pradesh's reported move to construct 30 new check-dams across Palar in the state assembly, saying that if it materialised, it would affect parts of Tamil Nadu, including Vellore.

"After coming across reports of Andhra Pradesh's proposal to construct 30 new check-dams across Palar, a communication has been sent to its Water Resources Department, saying no sanction should be given for the same," he said.

Referring to the Tamil Nadu government's earlier pleas in the Supreme Court against a similar proposal by Andhra Pradesh, Palaniswami said they had also asked that state not to go ahead with the construction of any check-dams till the case concluded.

He recalled that the government led by the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa had moved the apex court in 2006 against a similar proposal by Andhra Pradesh, besides protesting raising of the height of a check-dam on Palar in 2016.

Both cases were pending before the Supreme court, the chief minister pointed out.

The government was "carefully" dealing with the issue legally and taking all steps to assert Tamil Nadu's rights on the Palar river, Palaniswami said.