New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
on Wednesday discussed with his senior cabinet colleagues the
Mullaperiyar dam issue over which Tamil Nadu and Kerala have
been at loggerheads.
The discussion took place after the cabinet meeting
during which Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister
P Chidambaram, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Water
Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal were present.
Singh had been meeting a number of delegations from Tamil
Nadu and Kerala over the past week who demanded his
intervention in the issue.
While Tamil Nadu wants the level of the dam, located in
Kerala's Idukki district, to be raised to 142 feet from 136
feet, while Kerala wants to build a new dam near the existing
structure.
Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy had met Singh last
week while his Tamil Nadu counterpart J Jayalalithaa had
written three letters to the Prime Minister in this regard.
Singh's meeting with his senior colleagues also came in
the wake of the Centre inviting officials from both states for
discussions on the issue later this month.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, December 08, 2011, 00:48