TN govt will consult all parties on Cauvery issue

Chennai, Feb 10: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today said the state government would not hesitate to elicit the views of all political party leaders of the state before filing the review petition with the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal.

Listing the seven important factors in the Tribunal's final award that went against the interest of the state, Mr Karunanidhi, in a statement here, said the state government would come forward to move the Tribunal as well as seek legal recourse to find an amicable settlement to the issue.

He said that as the doors for approaching the Tribunal is open, so the government would first discuss the matter with all stake holders, including irrigation department experts, lawyers, representatives of farmers and leaders of all political parties and then would file the petition within the stipulated time.

Mr Karunanidhi, who dwelt in detail on the advantages and disadvantages in the final award, said in the 1991 interim award, the Tribunal had ordered 205 tmcft of water to the state, which included six tmcft of water to be released for Pondicherry.

However, in the final award, Tamil Nadu secured 217 tmcft of water, but after apportioning seven tmcft to Pondicherry, the state would finally receive 210 tmcft of water.

Reinstating his faith for a peaceful solution to the Cauvery issue, the Chief Minister said, ''It was unfortunate that the state had problems with Karnataka over Cauvery, Andhra Pradesh over Palar and Kerala over Mullaiperiyar, but I firmly believe that there could be a peaceful solution to these issues.'' Meanwhile, criticising Kerala and Tamil Nadu's approach towards the Cauvery issue, Mr Karunanidhi said the state was "fighting" with Karnataka for Cauvery for the past 38 years. However, he praised the approach of his other counterpart Andhra Pradesh on the Palar issue and said it gave him a ray of hope to find an amicable solution to the issue.

He, further, lamented the approach of some people who tried to politicise the entire issue, just when his state was trying to establish its rights on Cauvery, Palar and Mullaiperiyar, for political gains.

However, he was sypmpathetic towards the affected farmers of the delta region, who were fighting for nearly four decades for Cauvery water, as there are no signs of an early solution to the issue.

UNI