Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to advise Kerala to stop work on constructing two checkdams across the Bhavani. He pointed out that Tamil Nadu’s concurrence was not obtained for the checkdams and the matter was sub judice.
Recently, opposition leaders including DMK working president M.K. Stalin had cited reports about Kerala constructing the check dams across Bhavani, one of the main tributaries of the Cauvery, and drawn the attention of the State government to it.
In his letter, a copy of which was released to the media, Mr. Panneerselvam urged the Centre to advise Kerala not to take up any project or works without obtaining the concurrence of Tamil Nadu government and until the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee come into force and judicial references were finally settled.
Referring to reports that checkdams were being constructed at Thekkuvattai and Manjikandi across Bhavani by Kerala, he said this has caused great concern and anxiety to the people of Tamil Nadu dependent on waters of the Cauvery basin including the Bhavani, for irrigation and drinking water supply.
Any attempt to construct check dams across the Bhavani without disclosing the details of schemes and obtaining the concurrence of Tamil Nadu would be a violation of the order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. It would affect the natural flow of the Bhavani and consequently diminish the flows to Tamil Nadu, the Chief Minister pointed out.
“The government of Tamil Nadu conveys its strong objection to the construction of check dams by Kerala across the river Bhavani, without obtaining the prior concurrence of Tamil Nadu and in violation of the final order of the Tribunal,” he said.
Following the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal’s final order delivered on February 5, 2007, Karnataka and Kerala filed Special Leave Petitions (known as Civil Appeals now) before the Supreme Court challenging it. Tamil Nadu too filed a Special Leave Petition on certain aspects of the final order of the Tribunal.
Even as it held that the Civil Appeals were maintainable, the Supreme Court has fixed the hearing of the Civil Appeals on February 7, 2017 and would continue to hear them on day-to-day basis. The CMB has not yet been constituted by the Centre for the implementation of the final order of the Tribunal. Therefore, the entire matter is sub judice before the Supreme Court, the Chief Minister added.
