: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MLA Mano Thangaraj, representing the Padmanabhapuram constituency, told the Madras High Court Bench here on Tuesday that his voice went unheard in the Assembly, and therefore, he had approached the court against the State government’s proposed plan to implement a combined drinking water scheme by drawing water from a check dam above Thirparappu falls in Kanniyakumari district.
He made the submission when a Division Bench of Justices S. Nagamuthu and M.V. Muralidaran asked him as to why he chose to file a petition in the court to include him as one of the parties in a public interest litigation petition already filed against the combined drinking water scheme though he happened to be an MLA who was “supposed to air his concerns on public issues inside the Assembly hall and not in the court hall.”
Supporting the PIL petitioner S. Manoharan, a resident of Kanniyakumari, who had challenged the validity of two Government Orders passed on September 5, 2012 and April 12, 2013 for the implementation of the drinking water scheme, the MLA said that the entire Kanniyakumari district was dependant on ponds, bore wells, canals and river water for its survival and the Kothai River was the main source for drinking as well as irrigation needs. The river originates from Valiyamalai hills and reaches the Pechiparai dam, the single largest water spread area for meeting the requirements of the district. Water from the dam was distributed through seven canals, five of which pass through Agastheeswaram and Thovalai taluk for the purpose of agriculture, recharging of ground water table and maintaining the storage in the ponds and other water bodies in those two taluks.
The two taluks were also fed with water from another river called Valliyaru, and in view of the abundant water supply as well as fertility, the two taluks were called as ‘rice bowls’ or ‘Nanjil Nadu’ of the district. On the other hand, two other taluks – Vilavancode and Kalkulam – were completely dependant on the water supplied from two sluices on the check dam above Thirparappu falls for irrigation, drinking as well as recharging of the groundwater table.
Without any concern for the issues at hand, the government authorities have decided to draw 191.50 lakh litres of water every day for meeting the drinking water needs of Agastheeswaram and Thovalai taluk, much to the dismay of the farmers and other residents of Vilavancode and Kalkulam taluks, he said.
Farmers in the lurch
The MLA also accused the government officials of misinforming the court as if only surplus water from the check dam would be drawn for drinking water needs.
Finding force in his submissions, Mr. Justice Nagamuthu wondered what would happen to the riparian rights of farmers if the government continues to formulate one or the other drinking water schemes and draws water indiscriminately from dams. “You should let the water flow down so that it could irrigate the fields on the way and then draw it for drinking water needs. You cannot straightaway take away all the water from the check dam above the falls,” he said.
The judge also said that the State Government projects the plight of the farmers in the State to obtain share of river waters from neighbouring States and then ends up implementing one or the other combined drinking water project, thereby leaving the agriculturalists in a lurch.
Later, the Division Bench allowed an impleading petition filed by the MLA to include him as one of the parties to the case and adjourned the hearing to Thursday for a Special Government Pleader to obtain instructions from the officials concerned.
