Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Saturday urged Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu not to revive the neighbouring State’s old proposal of building a check dam across the Palar river.
The DMK chief was responding to reports in sections of the press that Mr. Naidu, in his thanksgiving address in the Kuppam Assembly constituency (from where he was elected) a few days ago, had assured people that he would take steps for the construction of the proposed check dam.
“Mr. Naidu should give time and consideration to making a reality his dream plans of developing the reorganised State of Andhra Pradesh. He should not let his administrative calibre adversely affect sources of water for one section of people in the name of promoting the interests of another section,” Mr. Karunanidhi said. If the check dam were to be built, this would hit people in the districts of Vellore, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur who were dependent on the Palar river for drinking water purpose, he added.
The Tamil Nadu government had moved the Supreme Court in February 2006 in the wake of the Andhra Pradesh government mooting a proposal to build the check dam on the Palar river in Ganeshapuram, Kuppam taluk of Chittoor district.Two years later, in a meeting conducted by the Central Water Commission, it was requested that the Government of Andhra Pradesh would not go ahead with the project before the issue was settled. In May 2011, the Union Water Resources Ministry, after holding a meeting in New Delhi with the two States, concluded that there was no possibility of a negotiated settlement.
The matter is now before the Supreme Court, which has listed July 8 for the next hearing.
