New Delhi: Kerala on Tuesday said it was ready for an out of court settlement to the Mullaperiyar Dam row with Tamil Nadu due to the time factor involved in it.
"Kerala is still ready for an out of court settlement," Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told reporters after meeting Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal here.
Stating that his Government has full faith in judiciary, he said the effort to settle the crisis out of court was "just because of the time factor involved in it." "Every moment is important for Kerala as it is the matter of safety of millions of people. At the same time, we know that water also is of prime importance to our neighbour," the Chief Minister said.
Chandy also said Kerala is ready for discussion with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to amicably settle the vexed issue.
The Chief Minister met Bansal to apprise him of the latest development on the issue and not to seek any assurance from the Centre. Chandy also met E Sreedharan, who recently retired as the Chief of the Delhi Metro, to seek his cooperation in the Kochi Metro project in the state.
He said Sreedharan has assured his full cooperation to the project.
On Sreedharan`s demand that the construction work of the Kochi Metro should be given to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Chandy said the issue would be discussed on January 12 when Sreedharan comes for attending the state planning commission meeting.
The Chief Minister, who came from Jaipur after attending the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, criticised Gujarat Chief Minister for utilising the venue of NRI summit for scoring political points.
Modi had used the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas platform to attack the Centre saying that states ruled by Opposition parties do not have its "blessings" and said whatever his state has achieved on the development front was on its own resources.
PTI