Two emotive issues are a permanent fixture in all major party manifestos in Tamil Nadu. Not withstanding the fact that the Centre has a big say in inter-State river management, political parties promise that they will resolve the Mullaperiyar dam and Cauvery river water disputes if they are voted to power.
But the history of legal battles around these water bodies would tell you that the issues can hardly be resolved quickly. The difficulty is accentuated manifold in a situation where both the DMK and the AIADMK have very little control at the Centre since the BJP now has a comfortable majority.
The Cauvery river dispute is a classic example of the differing priorities of the regional and national parties. For the Congress and the BJP, the stakes are much higher in Karnataka, where the two are the primary contestants for power. In Tamil Nadu, they could only hope for a few seats. Therefore, the high command of these two outfits chooses silence as the best strategy despite court rulings being in favour of Tamil Nadu.
After a prolonged battle, the State tasted a major victory in the Cauvery case when the Supreme Court forced the Centre to notify the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal in February 2013. The Tribunal had envisaged the formation of a Cauvery Management Board to implement its order. But the Board is yet to be formed despite consistent pressure from Tamil Nadu. Karnataka has opposed its formation tooth and nail. BJP Ministers over the last two years have skirted questions on this front, calling for “patient talks” to find a solution.
In the Mullaperiyar dam issue, the AIADMK continues to parade the Supreme Court order allowing the dam level to be raised to 142 feet as its greatest achievement. Now, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has assured her voters a further increase in water level to 152 feet, the Full Reservoir Level (FRL) as per the Periyar Lake Lease Agreement of 1886. But it is obvious from the reactions of the Kerala government that achieving this target would involve yet another protracted legal battle. Both the Congress and the CPI(M) are opposed to any such move.
Political commentator Gnani Sankaran says the promises are also vague and do not explain the exact measures that the parties would take to bring the disputes to an end. “Just saying we will do it is not enough. What do you plan to do exactly? Only then there could be a debate,” he feels. The DMK, for example, has made a generic statement that it would strive to maintain the water level at 142 feet at the Mullaperiyar dam.
Also, Mr. Gnani feels unless the political climate at the Centre shifts in 2019, there is little that Tamil Nadu could do to expedite the implementation of court orders. “The BJP will have its own considerations. I do not see a way out any time soon,” he states.
