'We are Available for consultations on Mullaperiyar : Soz

New Delhi, Oct 3 (UNI) Union Water Resource Minister Saifuddin Soz today said the Centre will not mediate on the Mullaperiyar dispute but will be available for 'consultations'.

Answering queries of newspersons, Dr Soz said the Centre need not do anything in the dispute because the Supreme Court was clear that the contending states should discuss the issue with or without the Centre.

"We are available for consultations and are ready to provide our expertise to facilitate the settlement of the dispute if these states want", he said.

Tamil Nadu and Kerala are at logger heads over the issue of sharing Mullaperiyar river water on the basis of a 110 year old agreement. While Tamil Nadu insists on raising the dam height to 152 feet, Kerala is against raising the level from the present level of 136 feet.

UNI MCN DKA MIR BST1944