Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister S Duraimurugan, on Tuesday, February 27, termed the allocation of funds by the Andhra Pradesh government for construction of a check dam across Palar river "anti-constitutional" and "against federal principles". In a statement here, the senior DMK leader said that other than this, the act of the Andhra Pradesh government was disrespect of the Supreme Court as two suits were pending before the court regarding inter-state river dispute, and called on it not to move ahead with the proposal.
The Andhra government had, in its budget for financial year 2024-25, allocated an amount of Rs 215 crore for the construction of a check dam across Palar river in its Kuppam district. The farmers of northern Tamil Nadu had raised the issue before the Tamil Nadu government and asked it to immediately act to prevent the construction of the check dam as it would totally affect cultivation in the area.
Farmers of Vellore, Ranipet, and Tirupattur has raised the issue before the Tamil Nadu government. Duraimurugan, in the statement, said that the Supreme Court, in its verdict dated February 16, 2018 on the Cauvery water dispute, had overtly stated that no structure should be constructed across an inter state river without the consent of the lower riparian states.
He said that the SC order had clearly said that the two inter state river agreements of 1892 and 1924 had neither any political arrangements nor touched any facet of sovereignty of the country. The minister also said that the government of Andhra Pradesh had violated the 1982 agreement and the Supreme Court's verdict.
The Tamil Nadu government had filed a case in the Supreme Court against the Andhra Pradesh government on February 6, 2006 when the latter attempted to build a reservoir without the consent of the lower riparian states, he added. He also said that another civil suit was filed against the Andhra government for increasing the height of the check dams in 2016.
Duraimurugan said that even after the two civil suits were pending before the Supreme Court, the Andhra government unilaterally tried to build a check dam across the Palar river and allocated funds for the project. He said that this would amount to contempt of court and not good for healthy relationships between the neighbouring states, and called upon the AP government to refrain from such activities in future.