All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) chief J. Jayalalithaa on Monday accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi of taking a compromising stand on construction of a new dam across the Mullaperiyar River by Kerala, to which the state is opposed.
“When Union Minister for Environment Jairam Ramesh permitted Kerala to do a feasibility study on constructing a dam across the Mullaperiyar three days back, it was largely expected that Karunanidhi would object the move,” she said in a statement.
But, she said, instead of opposing it, Mr. Karunanidhi issued a ‘compromising posture’ statement saying that “since the Mullaiperiyar issue was still with the Supreme Court, the Centre would have given the permission.”
Ms. Jayalalithaa wondered how the Chief Minister of a state and an ally of the Centre could not have had any knowledge about the Ministry’s permission to the Kerala government for conducting the study.
Asking the state government to take immediate steps to stop the move by Kerala, she said, “If he (Karunanidhi) ignores this issue, the state would not get even the current quota of water from Kerala.”
“Apart from this, the Tamil Nadu districts around Mullaiperiyar would suffer severe drought,” she said, adding if the state government did not take any steps on the issue, her party would launch an agitation.
Kerala and Tamil Nadu are locked in a row over the dam across the inter-state river with Kerala insisting on construction of a new reservoir holding that the existing structure is unsafe. But, Tamil Nadu is opposed to it.
