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Chandy forced to revise stand on ‘joint’ control
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has revised his — and his Government’s — stand on having a joint committee of the State, Tamil Nadu and Centre to control the affairs the new dam Kerala proposes to construct in Mullaperiyar to replace the 116-year-old structure in the face of scathing criticisms from the Opposition as well as the Congress and its allies.
Chandy said in Kochi on Friday that the Kerala Cabinet had not so far taken a final decision on the matter of the proposed dam’s control. After a meeting of the UDF Cabinet on Wednesday, Chandy had told the media that a tripartite joint committee would control the affairs of the dam. His Revenue Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan had confirmed this in many forums.
The Chief Minister said that the controversies over the report on the Cabinet decision on joint control over the dam were the result of distortion by a section of the media. He said that the discussions at the Cabinet meeting were on the regulation of water from the reservoir and the issue of joint control had not come into its consideration.
Observers are of the opinion that Chandy and his team are unable to offer a plausible explanation for the decision to let a joint committee with a Tamil Nadu representative on it to control the dam to be built in Kerala territory with its money when the dispute between the two states stems from the very issue of Tamil Nadu’s upper hand in the affairs of the existing dam.
Experts on water-sharing pointed out that the Kerala Government decision was equivalent to walking into the lion’s den. “Tamil Nadu already has an upper hand — practically — in the Mullaperiyar issue. It can turn things in its favour easily with its influence over the Centre if the Kerala Cabinet is serious about its decision,” said an expert at Mullaperiyar in Idukki.
Leaders of the agitation being held over the Mullaperiyar issue at Karinkulam Chapath near the dam said that their efforts for the past five years would come to naught if the move for tripartite control over the dam became operational. “There is no logic in the decision. It is against the interests of Kerala,” said an activist of the Joint Anti-Mullaperiyar Dam Agitation Council.
One of the first leaders to attack the Chandy Cabinet’s reported decision was senior Congress functionary VM Sudheeran. Expressing surprise at the Cabinet decision, Sudheeran said that he was ignorant of the basis on which the Government had come to it. He warned the Government against taking a unilateral decision on such a vexed issue.
State Congress president Ramesh Chennithala, also an MLA of the party, repeated the criticism aired by Sudheeran. “I don’t know about the reasons for the Cabinet to take such a decision. I will discuss the matter with the Chief Minister,” Chennithala said in Kochi on Friday.
Government Chief Whip PC George, also vice-chairman of Congress ally Kerala Congress (M) which has been in the forefront of the agitation over Mullaperiyar, said the Cabinet decision was improper in the present context but all ruling parties were responsible for that. “The joint control proposal could make parties in Tamil Nadu all the more arrogant,” he said.
Opposition leader in the Kerala Assembly and octogenarian Marxist leader VS Achuthanandan termed the decision of the Government for allowing joint control on the proposed dam as unilateral and against the interests of the State.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has revised his — and his Government’s — stand on having a joint committee of the State, Tamil Nadu and Centre to control the affairs the new dam Kerala proposes to construct in Mullaperiyar to replace the 116-year-old structure in the face of scathing criticisms from the Opposition as well as the Congress and its allies.
Chandy said in Kochi on Friday that the Kerala Cabinet had not so far taken a final decision on the matter of the proposed dam’s control. After a meeting of the UDF Cabinet on Wednesday, Chandy had told the media that a tripartite joint committee would control the affairs of the dam. His Revenue Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan had confirmed this in many forums.
The Chief Minister said that the controversies over the report on the Cabinet decision on joint control over the dam were the result of distortion by a section of the media. He said that the discussions at the Cabinet meeting were on the regulation of water from the reservoir and the issue of joint control had not come into its consideration.
Observers are of the opinion that Chandy and his team are unable to offer a plausible explanation for the decision to let a joint committee with a Tamil Nadu representative on it to control the dam to be built in Kerala territory with its money when the dispute between the two states stems from the very issue of Tamil Nadu’s upper hand in the affairs of the existing dam.
Experts on water-sharing pointed out that the Kerala Government decision was equivalent to walking into the lion’s den. “Tamil Nadu already has an upper hand — practically — in the Mullaperiyar issue. It can turn things in its favour easily with its influence over the Centre if the Kerala Cabinet is serious about its decision,” said an expert at Mullaperiyar in Idukki.
Leaders of the agitation being held over the Mullaperiyar issue at Karinkulam Chapath near the dam said that their efforts for the past five years would come to naught if the move for tripartite control over the dam became operational. “There is no logic in the decision. It is against the interests of Kerala,” said an activist of the Joint Anti-Mullaperiyar Dam Agitation Council.
One of the first leaders to attack the Chandy Cabinet’s reported decision was senior Congress functionary VM Sudheeran. Expressing surprise at the Cabinet decision, Sudheeran said that he was ignorant of the basis on which the Government had come to it. He warned the Government against taking a unilateral decision on such a vexed issue.
State Congress president Ramesh Chennithala, also an MLA of the party, repeated the criticism aired by Sudheeran. “I don’t know about the reasons for the Cabinet to take such a decision. I will discuss the matter with the Chief Minister,” Chennithala said in Kochi on Friday.
Government Chief Whip PC George, also vice-chairman of Congress ally Kerala Congress (M) which has been in the forefront of the agitation over Mullaperiyar, said the Cabinet decision was improper in the present context but all ruling parties were responsible for that. “The joint control proposal could make parties in Tamil Nadu all the more arrogant,” he said.
Opposition leader in the Kerala Assembly and octogenarian Marxist leader VS Achuthanandan termed the decision of the Government for allowing joint control on the proposed dam as unilateral and against the interests of the State.
