As Tamil Nadu and Kerala Chief Ministers Edappadi K. Palaniswamy and Pinarayi Vijayan prepare to meet here on Wednesday, expectations are running high that the two States would make some headway in settling knotty inter-State water issues.
On Saturday morning, Mr. Vijayan went into a huddle with Water Resources Minister K. Krishnankutty and senior officials ahead of his meeting with Mr. Palaniswamy.
On account of the long history of demands, blame games and court cases, Wednesday’s meeting is sure to be a keenly-watched one. The meeting, the first at the CM level in about 15 years, also assumes significance as it comes against the backdrop of increasing instances of drought in both States during the summer months.
On its part, Kerala is expected to press Tamil Nadu to honour the provisions of the Parambikulam-Aliyar Project (PAP) and ensure Kerala’s rightful share of water.
In addition to its demand for 2.5 tmc feet water from Anamalaiyar, Tamil Nadu also wants the Pampa-Achenkoil-Vaipar link proposal and the Pandiyar-Punnapuzha project on the discussion table, sources said.
Kerala has been opposed to these schemes.
Apart from the Chief Minister and the Water Resources Minister, the Kerala side will consist of Forest Minister K. Raju, Electricity Minister M.M. Mani, Chief Secretary Tom Jose and senior officials.
The Tamil Nadu delegation consists of Power Minister P Thangamani, Municipal Administration and Rural Development Minister S.P. Velumani, Environment Minister K.C. Karuppannan, Deputy Speaker V. Jayaraman, Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam and five secretaries.
