Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Arbitration in PAP only if talks fail, says Minister

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If talks with the Tamil Nadu government for reviewing the Parambikulam Aliyar-Project agreement fail to yield desired results, the State government would think of arbitration, Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran has said.

Replying to questions in the Assembly on Monday, Mr. Premachandran said the government was keen on resolving the issue through talks. In the event of a dispute or lack of consensus, the Parambikulam Aliyar Pact (PAP) had provisions for arbitration. Considering the delay in settling the issue through arbitration, the government was trying to sort it out through talks, he added.

Bilateral talks were going on. The latest Chief Secretary-level talks were held here on May 30. The State had put forth a series of demands. The government had sought joint control of Perivarikulam, Thoonakadavu and Parambikulam dams and total control of the structures in the project area. The State had demanded to increase the powers of the Joint Water Regulatory Board for expediting the decisions. All violations of agreement by the Tamil Nadu government were also taken up at the meeting. Both the State governments would exchange notes on the problems being faced by them, he said.

The Assembly had resolved to release water from Neyyar Dam to Tamil Nadu. Subject to the availability of water, the government was not opposed to releasing water from the dam, he said.

Replying to a debate on the Kerala Water Supply and Sewerage (Amendment) Bill in the Assembly, the Water Resources Minister accused Tamil Nadu of politicising the water disputes with Kerala even though the State had made it clear that it would release waters from the Neyyar while at the same time take steps to protect its interests. The Minister pointed out two developments across the border to substantiate his charge. One related to the attempts to destroy the shutters regulating the water flow at Vellanikode and the other the hartal observed in Coimbatore in protest against Kerala’s decision to construct the Mukkali check-dam, as per the norms of the Kaveri river water settlement.

He said Tamil Nadu’s new claim on Neyyar that it was an inter-State river was unjustified. The LDF’s policy was that water should not be denied to Tamil Nadu. But it could be released only on the basis of availability of water in the Neyyar Reservoir.

Referring to the construction of 18th canal in Tamil Nadu to utilise the Mullaperiyar waters, the Minister said the State could not do anything about it as there was no bar on Tamil Nadu utilising the water from the dam as per the old agreement. He said the agreement was totally against the State and that was why the State had questioned its basis, he explained.

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