The Central government cannot intervene in the Mullaperiyar dam dispute between Tamil Nadu and Kerala unless the two States seek its arbitration, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president B.S. Gnanadesikan said here on Friday.
Talking to reporters after paying homage to former Congress Minister P. Kakkan on his 30 death anniversary at Sathyamurthi Bhavan, the party headquarters, he wondered how anyone could fault the Centre on this issue, which was pending before the Supreme Court.
“Only when the contending parties seek arbitration, the Central government can respond. As far as this issue is concerned, Tamil Nadu has been relying only on the Supreme Court. Then where is the question of Central Government getting into the picture?” At the same time, all the parties in Tamil Nadu were totally supportive of the State government in its endeavour to seek justice, he pointed out. To a question on the National Disaster team, regarding which Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has raised apprehension, the Congress leader said: “This team has nothing to do with testing the safety of the Mullaperiyar dam. This team routinely inspects any zone\region at the request of the particular State government.”
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He has requested the Prime Minister not to depute any such team to the dam site in the present surcharged atmosphere. “I hope the team will not be sent.”
Status quo
Mr. Gnanadesikan said there was no question of demolishing the dam or reducing the water level to 120 ft. Status quo would continue and hence there was no issue on any of these points.
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“We have got to wait for the verdict from the Supreme Court. And it is imperative on the part of the people of both States to maintain calm.”