The Hindu : We have sought early monitoring panel meet: CM

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 25, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

We have sought early monitoring panel meet: CM

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI APRIL 24. The Chief Secretary has urged the Union Water Resources Secretary to convene an early meeting of the Cauvery Monitoring Committee to discuss the issue of distress-sharing formula, the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, told the Assembly today.

In an April 21 communication, the senior official said the CMC should finalise the formula, which had been evolved but was not yet accepted by Karnataka, and recommend its decision to the Cauvery River Authority.

``We have been taking prompt steps'', the Chief Minister said, intervening in a discussion on the demands for the department of Agriculture and responding to Opposition queries whether the Mettur reservoir would be opened on June 12 for irrigation, as was done in the past, and what action the Government was taking to tackle the situation this year.

G. Palanisamy (CPI), referring to the Indian Meteorological department forecast for the southwest monsoon, said farmers in the Cauvery delta were worried what would befall them. There were `gaps' in the State Government approach to the Union and Karnataka Governments, and these should be filled. The Chief Minister should meet the Prime Minister and represent Tamil Nadu's case to him.

Contending that the Karnataka Government was constructing a number of storage points across the river, Mr. Palanisamy said this action would restrict the flow of water to Tamil Nadu. Besides, heavy sand quarrying in the Cauvery bed in Karur and Kulithalai was going on, and this led to formation of ``large tanks'' within the river. Water might not flow beyond Karur and tail-end areas would suffer, Mr. Palanisamy said.

When he suggested that the encouragement, given for the wasteland development programme, be shown to the delta farmers too, the Agriculture Minister, R. Jeevanandam, replied that the Government was not neglecting the interests of the agriculturists. The administration ordered that farm ponds be formed; tanks deepened and canals desitled in the delta. ``It was our Chief Minister who staged a fast for Cauvery water'', he noted.

K. Mahendran (CPI-M) and A.R. Malyaiappasamy (PMK) asked whether the Government had any plan of action for this year, as most of the farmers had to forgo kuruvai last year.

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