Kerala Gov makes stinging comments on Mullaperiyar

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 1: With the Mullaperiyar dam issue on a less aggressive mode at the moment, acting Kerala Governor H R Bhardwaj's comments are likely to shake things up a little bit. He has claimed that the state government was committed to building a new dam at Mullaperiyar.

Speaking at the first day of the current session of the assembly, Bhardwaj also commented that the earlier Left administration had slowed down development. In an effort to dispel any wrong notions, he added that the Kerala govt was keen to ensure good relations with Tamil Nadu, but was committed to building a new dam based on the principle of 'water for Tamil Nadu and safety for Kerala'.

Bhardwaj has been quoted as saying, "The United Democratic Front government from 2001-06 charted out several projects to give an impetus to the development of the state. Unfortunately, several of these vital projects were shelved or ignored (by the next government led by the Left). In the process the development of the state lost momentum. The Smart City, Kochi Metro and Vizhinjam port are but a few examples of critical projects that suffered from this neglect."

The two states were involved in a bitter stand-off after Kerala stressed on the need to build a new dam in the place of the aged Mullaperiyar dam. The Tamil Nadu side was against this proposition citing that the dam was in perfect condition and especially since TN manages the 100 year old dam.

The Governor also praised the Oommen Chandy government of being able to gather the trust of people from all walks of life including those with varying political views in a short span of 9 months.

OneIndia News