A meeting of Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will be held in Chennai in connection with the linking of inter-state rivers Godavari and Cauvery, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami said on Wednesday.
Speaking at a function in Salem, he said that his Andhra counterpart YS Jaganmohan Reddy has agreed for a meeting on the linking of the rivers.
Palaniswami said that state Municipal Administration and Rural Development Minister S.P.Velumani and Fisheries Minister D.Jayakumar had met Jaganmohan Reddy and handed over his letter.
Similarly a request has been made to Telangana Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao for a meeting and he has said that time will be allotted soon.
"The Chief Ministers of three states would deliberate on realising the river linking project and then submit a report to the Central government," Palaniswami said.
He said the water will be stored in Karur and from there it will be taken to various districts in south Tamil Nadu through canals at an outlay of about Rs 14,000 crore.
KCR and Jagan have also previously met on the issue of diverting Godavari waters to Krishna River via interlinking.
As per a proposal which was earlier announced by the Andhra Pradesh government, water from the Godavari river would be diverted to Nagarajuna Sagar and Srisailam projects, which are situated on the Krishna river, and eventually make its way to the state's Rayalaseema region -- which includes the districts of Kadapa, Kurnool, Anantapur and Chittoor.
However, the move to interlink rivers has not been without controversy. Many activists and expert point out that the claims of more efficient distribution of water and reduction of flooding may not necessarily be the result. They have repeatedly said that the move could have geographical and ecological implications for the future as two complete ecosystems are being linked.