Tamil Nadu rejects SC's appeal offer to PM on Mullaperiyar

New Delhi, Dec 15: The Supreme Court on Thursday said the Prime Minister was the "most suitable authority" to hammer out a solution to vexed water disputes like Mullaperiyar dam row and wanted to appeal for his intervention but refrained from doing so after Tamil Nadu objected to it.

A five-judge Constitution Bench wanted to make the appeal on the suggestion of Kerala's counsel Harish Salve but Tamil Nadu's lawyer Raju Ramachandran put up a stubborn opposition to the Prime Minister's intervention as the apex court-empowered committee was already seized of the issue.

At the fag end of the hearing held to decide on Tamil Nadu's plea for deployment of CISF at the dam site, Salve suggested the apex court make an appeal to the Prime Minister for convening a meeting of the two states' Chief Ministers to resolve the issue as tribunals, far from solving the problems, have only "increased the temperature".
"Without prejudice to the proceeding before the committee, this court can appeal to the Prime Minister to convene a meeting of the Chief Ministers to solve the problem," he said.

But the suggestion was opposed by Ramachandran saying it was "too premature" as the committee was seized of the matter.

"It would not be appropriate at this stage when the empowered committee is meeting. It is already seized of the matter," he said.