Tiruchirappalli: Tamil Nadu Chief
Minister M Karunanidhi Wednesday said his government will approach the Centre if Karnataka did not provide "sufficient" Cauvery
water to the state.
"You all know about the (legal) problems after the
Tribunal was set up and it gave its verdict. Tamil Nadu and
Karnataka Governments are holding talks and on humanitarian
basis the Delta districts are getting possible amount of water
in Cauvery river for cultivation," he told reporters here.
When asked if the problem, which was now pending
before the Supreme Court, will be resolved by next year, he
said "We can only try to expedite the case."
Karnataka has moved the apex court challenging the
final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal given in
February 2007. As per the Tribunal, Tamil Nadu has to get 205
tmc ft of water annually.
Karunanidhi said the Tamil Nadu River Grid Programme
was progressing "very well" and the work to link Thamirabarani
with Karumeni rivers was in full swing.
On resettlement of Internally Displaced Sri Lankan
Tamils, he said Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao had met him
before visting Colombo recently and told him that she would
take up the issue of protection and welfare measures for
Tamils with the Rajapaksa Government. But she did not meet him
after her return.
Referring to the trade unions` agitation over price
rise, he said "Tamil Nadu government had taken possible steps
to reduce the burden on the people due to the hike in the
prices of essential commodities."
He ruled out the possibility of reducing the sales tax
on petrol and diesel saying the state had already lowered it
twice earlier.
PTI
