Jayalalithaa flays Karunanidhi’s ‘inaction’ in Mullaperiyar issue

The “self-centred” policy of the former Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, changed the course of the Mullaperiyar case in 2006 from raising the dam’s water level to 142 feet to one that prompted the Kerala government to demand constructing a new dam, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said here on Friday.

Addressing a rally here, organised by farmers of five southern districts, Ms. Jayalalithaa said the Supreme Court, among other things, allowed Tamil Nadu to raise the water level to 142 feet based on the strong arguments put forth by the State. It also directed Kerala to cooperate with Tamil Nadu on the issue.

Kerala legislation

However, Kerala had stopped that process by enacting the ‘Kerala Government Irrigation and Water Conservation (Amendment) Act’ by fixing the dam level at 136 feet, she pointed out, going over in some detail about the history of the dispute.

Though the previous AIADMK government filed an appeal in 2006 to declare Kerala’s then legislation as null and void, the DMK, which was voted to power in May that year, did not bother about such people’s issues. Karunanidhi’s attention that time was on the 2G spectrum, she thundered.

When the Centre allowed Kerala to take up survey for a new dam, Mr. Karunanidhi initially denied it. However, only after her statement on the issue, he declared a protest against then Union Minister for Forests and Environment. “Then he changed it as a protest meeting against Kerala government, but only to give it up later,” she alleged.

The DMK general body, which decided that Tamil Nadu need not be represented in the Empowered Committee formed by Supreme Court to study the safety of the reservoir, changed its stand only after her intervention, she said adding that it was her government that presented strong, just and legal arguments before the committee, resulting in the Supreme Court allowing Tamil Nadu to raise the water level to 142 feet.

Earlier, representatives of farmers from Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts profusely thanked the Chief Minister for Tamil Nadu’s victory on the dam issue and for constructing a memorial for British engineer John Pennycuick, who constructed the dam.

They described her as “living Pennycuick” and vowed to support her “forever.”

Ministers, MPs, MLAs and elected representatives of local bodies took part in the rally.