'Govt may approach Apex court on Hogenakal'
Bangalore, Aug 20: Water Resources Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday, Aug 20 threatened to wage a legal battle over the Hogenakal drinking water project taken up by the Tamil Nadu if the latter failed to clear the air over the controversy.
Speaking to reporters here that there was no option but to approach the Supreme court as 'a last resort' in a democratic and Federal system if all administrative and political measures failed.
The state government would give a week's time to Tamil Nadu government to settle the pending controversial issues like conducting a joint survey and an explanation on the sharing of water from the project, he said.
He said Karnataka government would constitute an all party delegation to meet the Prime Minister next month if Tamil Nadu did not cooperate with it.
He also criticised the Centre for not responding to the state's stand on the issue and the recent statements by Tamil Nadu's Water Resources Minister Dorai Murughan on the project saying there was no need for a joint survey.
''Our stand on the Hogenakal project is clear and Tamil Nadu should not take up the project until a joint survey is conducted.
The Centre should keep it in abeyance till then,'' he said.
So far the officials of Tamil Nadu government had taken a non-participative approach whenever the date was fixed to carry out the survey by the Survey of India, he said.
Mr Bommai said Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa would speak to his Tamil Nadu counterpart Mr M Karunanidhi this evening on the issue.
UNI