Steps will be taken for final award of Cauvery tribunal: MK

Tiruvarur, Sep 13: The Tamil Nadu Government will take expeditious steps to get the final award of the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal with the cooperation of alliance partners and the people of the state.

Announcing this at a thanks-giving function organised by the Communist Party of India for reconstituting the agricultural labourers' welfare board in the state, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said with the cooperation of the constituent partners of the DPA and the people, he would succeed in getting Tamil Nadu, its due share of Cauvery water from Karnataka.

DMK is heading the DPA in Tamil Nadu, in which Congress, Pattali Makkal Katchi, CPI, CPI(M) and IUML are the constituents.

Referring to the demand made by the CPI leaders on the vexatious Cauvery issue, Mr Karunanidhi said negotiations would be initiated with the Union and Karnataka governments to find an amicable solution.

Mr Karunanidhi also said that steps had been initiated to link the South Indian rivers.

On distribution of two acres land to landless farmers under the Wasteland Development Scheme, he said the report prepared during the previous AIADMK that 25 lakh hectares of wastelands were available in the state turned out to be untrue.

''So it will not be possible to distribute land to all the 50 lakh landless farmers. Whatever land is available will be distributed,'' he added.

He said since Thanjavur district, the rice bowl of the state, accounted for more cultivable land than wastelands, the cultivable lands encroached by farmers would be improved and given to them.

Earlier, the CPI leaders, speaking on the occasion, said the decision to reconstitute the board would help lakhs of farm workers.

UNI