Tamil Nadu files plea in SC seeking full-time chairman for CWMA

According to official sources, the State in its petition submitted that the present chairman of the CWMA was holding additional charge besides being the Chairman of the Central Water Commission and was likely to be influenced by decisions taken by the authorities functioning under the CWC. Further it was also stated that the officials in the CWC had given their nod for Karnataka to go ahead with a detailed project report on Mekedatu, which contradicted the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and Supreme Court orders. This is the second petition moved by the State fighting for its riparian rights, sources said.

S Masood Husain was the Chairman of the Central Water Commission, which approved the DPR and the official was also holding the post of chairman with CWMA as an additional charge. All these facts would be submitted during the first hearing, sources said.

“We have moved petitions in connection with Mekedatu and will explore all the legal options in the Supreme Court. Further the state will not hold any dialogue with Karnataka on this subject,” state law minister C Ve Shanmugham told DTNext. “We are waiting for the petitions to come up for hearing by next week,” the minister added. The petition comes in the wake of State assembly passing a unanimous resolution seeking the Centre to withdraw the consent given to go ahead with the DPR for the new balancing dam proposed by Karnataka at cost of over Rs 5,900 crore.

It may be noted that the opposition DMK has been targeting the ruling AIADMK for not putting up a tough fight against the BJP led Centre on the Cauvery issue. During a special assembly session on Thursday, DMK leader S Durai murugan alleged that the State was not doing much to protect the riparian rights of TN farmers.