With the standoff between Kerala and Tamil Nadu on the Mullaperiyar dam issue escalating, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow.
With the standoff between Kerala and Tamil Nadu on the Mullaperiyar dam issue escalating, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow.
Claiming that the Prime Minister was "already convinced" of the state's demand for a new dam in place of the 116-year-old structure, Chandy said after a Cabinet meeting that he would once again take up the matter with him.
Chandy said he would write to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa explaining Kerala's position on the Mullaperiyar issue.
He sought to know why Jayalalithaa, who was opposing the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu on the safety issue, was reluctant to adopt the same yardstick in the Mullaperiyar issue where the safety of three million people was involved.
"The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has been opposing the Koodankulam project on the ground of the safety of the people. Is not the issue of safety applicable in the case of people in Kerala also?" he asked.
Expressing his readiness to meet his Tamil Nadu counterpart to discuss the issue, he said, "I am ready to take the initiative to meet Jayalalithaa, if that will find a solution".
Kerala Cabinet, which discussed the Mullaperiyar issue, resolved to stick to the state's demand for building a new dam and reduce the water level at the reservoir to 120 feet from the present level.
Rejecting Jayalalithaa's charge that political parties in Kerala were whipping up "fear pyschosis" on the safety of the dam, he said, "Experts have given a serious warning on the safety of the dam.
"Kerala cannot even wait for the decision of the Supreme Court on the matter in view of the tremors and serious situation prevailing" in Idukki, where the dam is situated, Chandy said.
About Tamil Nadu's fear that they would lose control over the dam once a new one was constructed, he said, "Those are details which could be worked out through discussion".
Stating that both the ruling Congress-led UDF and CPI-M headed LDF were together on the issue, Chandy said a decision to convene a special assembly session exclusively to debate on Mullaperiyar issue would be taken after consulting with Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan.
Chandy also said in the present circumstances, building a new dam was the only solution and "Kerala is ready to give assurance in any forum that it will provide the same quantity of water now given to Tamil Nadu after the new dam is built".
Chandy said Kerala wanted to achieve its objective without in any way compromising its cordial ties with Tamil Nadu.
Kerala's stand of "water to Tamil Nadu and safety of Kerala" had received wide support from the Centre, he claimed.
In Mullaperiyar, top leaders of UDF and LDF visited the dam and pledged support to ongoing protests in the area. Achuthanandan, who led the LDF team, asked the Centre to take the initiative to facilitate talks between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, locked in a long-standing dispute over the dam's safety.
Meanwhile, the Kerala High court today directed the state government to file a written statement within '48 hours' on the disaster management steps being taken anticipating threat to the dam.
Chandy also dismissed Tamil Nadu government's contention that the dam was safe, adding Kerala was ready to convince the judiciary and executive that the dam was unsafe.
The Chief Minister said he failed to understand why Tamil Nadu was opposing the construction of a new dam, as Kerala has assured that they would get the same quantity of water they were receiving now.
"The country has witnessed many water disputes between states since independence. In all the cases, the dispute was either over the quantity of water or not supplying water.
"In this case, Kerala has no dispute over quantity of water or in supplying water to Tamil Nadu," Chandy said.
He added that the water level at the Idukki Arch Dam where Kerala's main hydel power project is situated, would be reduced as a precautionery measure to reduce the gravity of the situation in case the Mullaperiyar dam failed.
Today's cabinet meeting also considered the report of experts and legal opinion received on the dam issue, he said, adding it would meet again tonight to discuss the issue.
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