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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

The politics of Hogenakkal project

R.K. Radhakrishnan

The project is just one chapter in
the long, unending story of politicisation of the Cauvery dispute.

CHENNAI: The Hogenakkal project, caught in a dispute involving Tamil and Kannada chauvinist organisations, is just one chapter in the long, unending story of the politicisation of the Cauvery dispute.

The project envisages the supply of drinking water to fluoride-affected and water-starved Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts of Tamil Nadu bordering Karnataka.

A level of 9.0mg/L of fluoride has been detected in the Dharmapuri district, far in excess of 1.5mg/L of WHO guidelines.

The project will benefit more than 2.2 million people, a good percentage (about 40 according to one official estimate) of whom are actually Telugu and Kannada-speaking. Water for the project is to be sourced from the Cauvery that originates in Karnataka and flows into Tamil Nadu.

Parallel to Tamil Nadu’s Hogenakkal project was Karnataka’s project using the Cauvery for augmenting water supply to Bangalore. Though both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka sought the Centre’s approval (from the Water Resources Ministry) for the projects in 1997, the Union Ministry chose to give the go-ahead only to the Bangalore water supply scheme. The Water Resources Secretary wrote to the Karnataka Chief Secretary on February 28, 1997, granting a ‘No Objection’ Certificate for the project.

The approval was wrapped in secrecy. Tamil Nadu got wind of it only when a senior Tamil politician saw a newspaper advertisement calling for tenders for the Bangalore project.

Soon, Tamil Nadu raised strong objections against the Bangalore project being cleared while the Hogenakkal project was kept pending. Following the protest, the Union Water Supplies Secretary wrote to the then Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary (November 3, 1997) assuring him that Karnataka would make available 205 TMC at Mettur in the specified manner, regardless of the Bangalore project.

Karnataka later agreed to facilitate the clearance of the Hogenakkal project if Tamil Nadu withdrew its objections to the Bangalore project.

Accordingly, Tamil Nadu withdrew its objections to Karnataka using its share of the Cauvery waters for supply to Bangalore and the Centre issued a ‘No Objection’ Certificate for the Hogenakkal project.

There was no sign of any trouble until March this year when former Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who headed a short-lived BJP government, stirred it up by taking a boat ride in Hogenakkal in protest against the project. Karnataka’s contention was that Tamil Nadu could not go ahead with the project when a final solution to the Cauvery dispute was still pending in court.

Late last month, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi voiced his determination to go ahead with the project.

Then followed a war of words and violence erupted with Tamil establishments being targeted in Karnataka and Kannada institutions coming under attack in Tamil Nadu.

Following this, Mr.Karunanidhi counselled patience and wanted the issue to be kept in abeyance till an elected government assumes charge in Karnataka after the Assembly elections in May.

Emotive issue

The Cauvery dispute is an emotive issue that could be cashed in on in an election. So, even national political parties take diametrically opposing positions in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

The Congress can keep the Karnataka electorate happy only by taking a pro-Karnataka stance in the dispute.

But that could raise the hackles of the DMK, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu and a major partner of the Congress-led UPA coalition ruling the country.

The best course was thus to put the project on hold temporarily.

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