The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Jayalalithaa for good ties with neighbouring States

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 29, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Jayalalithaa for good ties with neighbouring States

Special Correspondent

"Survey will prove Hogenakkal has always been part of Tamil Nadu" "Survey will prove Hogenakkal was always part of Tamil Nadu"

CHENNAI: : Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday said her Government wanted cordial relations with neighbouring States and would not allow contentious issues such as sharing of river water and border disputes to assume serious proportions.

She was referring to Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader J. Hemachandran's remark during the debate on the First Supplementary Statement of Expenditure for 2005-2006 that the Government should not allow the dispute raised by Karnataka over Hogenakkal to escalate into a conflict between the people of the States.

Such an eventuality would not arise, "as we are not living in the era of monarchy," Ms. Jayalalithaa said. The Centre had decided to survey the disputed site with the involvement of officials of the States. It would prove that Hogenakkal had always been part of Tamil Nadu.

On the Cauvery issue, she said Karnataka was refusing to release the State's share of water. Andhra Pradesh had not been fulfilling its commitment to release 12 tmc ft of Krishna water to the State.

Responding to Mr. Hemachandran's plea to make Kerala release adequate water from the Neyyar dam for irrigation in Kanyakumari district, Ms. Jayalalithaa said her Government would continue its efforts to get water released from the dam for irrigation in the Vilavancode taluk. Tracing the history of the project from the days of the Travancore-Kochi State, she said Vilavancode's share of water released through the left bank canal was 48 per cent. As no formal accord had been signed, Tamil Nadu submitted a draft agreement in 1971, suggesting that both the States share the maintenance cost as they had done in the case of capital expenditure.

Though ayacut in the Vilavancode area in the State was 9,200 acres, Kerala agreed to release 150 cubic feet. But water has not been released since February 2004. The issue figured at a meeting of the Irrigation Ministers of both the States on February 13. The State Public Works Minister wrote to the Kerala Minister for Irrigation on July 21, besides approving the draft accord. Correspondence between the States was continuing. Kerala had recently informed that the State's proposals were being considered and that a final agreement would be made known shortly, Ms. Jayalalithaa said.

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