Kerala and Tamil Nadu on Wednesday agreed to review the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) pact, with Chief Ministers Edappadi K. Palaniswamy and Pinarayi Vijayan stating that complex interstate water disputes involving the two neighbours would be settled through dialogue.
The two States will form a secretary-level committee with five members each from both sides to work out the details, it was a decided at a meeting between both sides on interstate water issues which also had the significance of being the first CM-level conference in 15 years.
“PAP needed a review, being 60 years old. Both States have agreed to it,” Mr. Vijayan said at a joint media briefing by the two Chief Ministers after the bilateral talks.
Details in a week
“The members of the panel and the date of its first meeting would be decided in a week,” he said, adding that the meeting had ended on a positive note.
Additionally, the 10-member committee will look into Tamil Nadu's demand for diverting water from Anamalaiyar, which is linked to the Idamalayar project; the Nirar-Nallar diversion proposal and the Manakkadavu issue.
Kerala has also agreed to restore power supply to the Mullaperiyar dam, which is managed by Tamil Nadu.
The Chief Secretaries of both States would meet once every six months to review the progress of work.
The Kerala demand for a review of the PAP agreement is several years old. The treaty was inked on May 29, 1970, with retrospective effect from November 9, 1958. Although it was to be reviewed after 30 years, in 1988, the two States could not reach a consensus despite several rounds of meetings.
Special committee
Further, the two States decided to form a special committee, which will also have Power Department officers as members, to study the Pandiyar-Punnapuzha proposal involving the two tributaries of the Chaliyar, Mr. Vijayan said.
Mr. Palaniswamy who had taken the initiative for the meeting, called the development a “good beginning”. The people of Kerala and Tamil Nadu consider themselves siblings, he said.
The Tamil Nadu CM was accompanied by Municipal Administration and Rural Development Minister S.P. Velumani, Deputy Speaker V. Jayaraman, Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam and senior officials.
Kerala Water Resources Minister K. Krishnankutty, Forest Minister K. Raju and Electricity Minister M.M. Mani, Chief Secretary Tom Jose and senior officials also were present from the Kerala side.
