He urged the PM to not proceed further with the process of the legislation till the time Tamil Nadu's concerns are addressed.
Raising strong objection to the introduction of the Dam Safety Bill, 2018 in Lok Sabha without consensus among the states, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct the Ministry of Water Resources to withdraw the Bill. He urged the PM to not proceed further with the process of the legislation till the time Tamil Nadu's concerns are addressed.
In a letter to PM Modi, Palaniswami said the first proviso under Section 23(1) of the Dam Safety Bill specifies that in case a dam located in one state is owned by another state, the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) would act as the State Dam Safety Organisation for that particular dam. "This implies that state that owns the dam would have no rights over the safety and maintenance of the dam as it is located in another state," he noted.
At present, Mullaperiyar, Parambikulam, Thunakkadavu and Peruvaripallam dams are owned, operated and maintained by the Tamil Nadu government by virtue of Inter-State Agreements, but are located in a neighbouring state, it said. It added that the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of India upheld the rights of Tamil Nadu on Mullaperiyar dam in the judgment and decree dated May 7, 2014.
"Therefore, to deny Tamil Nadu the right to be the Dam Safety Authority with regard to these four dams and vesting the powers to the NDSA would tantamount to encroaching on the rights of Tamil Nadu which is unconstitutional. It is also a violation of the federal principles enshrined in our Constitution," the CM said.
Palaniswami said Tamil Nadu had suggested to include a new subclause to ensure access to the dams by technical personnel for those dams which are located in forest areas and wildlife sanctuaries. However, this suggestion was also not incorporated in the Bill.
"The clause should be suitably amended to ensure that the Dam Safety Organisation of a State should have jurisdiction over the dams owned, controlled, operated and maintained by it even though they are located in another State," the chief minister asserted.
Recalling his letter to him and also the resolution adopted in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly against the proposed Dam Safety Bill, he said, "However the serious concerns of Tamil Nadu have not been addressed at all by the Government of India and a Bill has now been introduced in the Lok Sabha without considering the views/comments of the State governments".
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 "Edappadi K Palaniswami")
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