Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam urged DMK president M. Karunanidhi “not to politicise water management issues” after he alleged that the AIADMK government failed to take steps to augment the Mullaperiyar dam’s storage beyond 136 feet, as allowed by the Supreme Court in May.
In a five-page rebuttal here on Sunday, the Chief Minister termed Mr. Karunanidhi’s remarks a “bundle of lies” meant to “distort” the facts related to the measures taken to settle the dispute with Kerala in recent years.
He condemned Mr. Karunanidhi’s attempts to “confuse the people and gain political mileage” by “misrepresenting” the long series of steps taken by the ruling AIADMK, under Ms. Jayalalithaa’s leadership, to protect the interests of farmers of five southern districts dependent on the reservoir for irrigation and drinking water supply. It was the DMK that had “failed the people of Tamil Nadu” on the issue.
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Detailing the steps taken by Ms. Jayalalithaa, Mr. Panneerselvam said it was her “solid, firm and constructive steps, besides constant suggestions and advice [in the course of the case in the Supreme Court],” that led to the court upholding Tamil Nadu’s stand on May 7, allowing the State to raise the water level to 142 feet in the first phase. “As a result of this, after 37 years, we have been able to raise the storage this year beyond 136 feet,” he said.
The recent rains in the Mullaperiyar’s catchments sent a good quantum of water to the dam, pushing up the level to 138.40 feet, as on November 8. At present, some quantum of water was being released from the dam every day to meet the irrigation needs of farmers in the Periyar and Vaigai ‘ayacut’ areas, the Chief Minister said. This was because of the drop in the storage of the Vaigam dam since November 1. “So we have been drawing water from the Mullaperiyar dam,” Mr. Panneerselvam said, justifying the State’s water management practices.
Reiterating that the AIADMK government, as declared earlier by Ms. Jayalalithaa at a felicitation rally in Madurai recently, would take steps to raise the level to 152 feet, Mr. Panneerselvam said that under the court order, it could be done only after more strengthening works to the satisfaction of the supervisory committee, set up under the order.
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The dam was found safe even recently by the four-member panel, but the additional strengthening works could be done only after the monsoon was over, Mr. Panneerselvam said, asserting that the government did not dither on utilising the full storage potential of the dam.