Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Wednesday said that the joint control of the proposed new dam at Mullaperiyar was fully acceptable to the Kerala Government.
Talking to the media after a meeting of the Cabinet, the Chief Minister said that the Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Centre could jointly control the dam. The government had an open mind regarding the details. A similar arrangement was working successfully in case of Siruvani dam (supplying water to Coimbatore).
Mr. Chandy said that Kerala’s stand in favour of the new dam was getting acceptance. For the first time, the proposal had come for active consideration before the Empowered Committee appointed by the Supreme Court. This was the result of united stand taken by the State in favour of giving water to Tamil Nadu. It was willing for any sacrifice to maintain better relations with Tamil Nadu.
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He said that Kerala was willing to provide the same quantity of water which Tamil Nadu is getting now from the Mullaperiyar dam. The Assembly had already passed a resolution on this and the State was willing to give an undertaking on that before the Supreme Court or other bodies. He did not answer a question whether Kerala had promised more water to Tamil Nadu in the statement filed before the empowered committee.
(Kerala has promised about ten per cent more water to Tamil Nadu according to reports from Delhi.)
He said that a new agreement could be discussed with Tamil Nadu regarding the new dam. However, it would not become a dispute. If there is any disagreement, that could be decided by the Supreme Court.
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