The Supreme Court has settled the issue of Cauvey water-sharing in its final verdict. Hence, there is no need for any negotiations, said Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami here on Saturday.
The riparian States should abide by the Supreme Court’s final order and this was the stand of Tamil Nadu government too, he told reporters at Omalur near here on Saturday.
Mr. Palaniswami was responding to the statement of his Karnataka counterpart H. D. Kumaraswamy favouring negotiations for finding a lasting solution to the issue of sharing Cauvery water.
“The five-decade-old Cauvery row was finally settled by Supreme Court and there is nothing more to negotiate,” said the Chief Minister firmly.
Refuting the rumour that the SC had turned down the request of Tamil Nadu government on the Mekedatu issue, Mr. Palaniswami said the apex court directed the Centre and the Karnataka government to respond to a petition filed by his regime against the unilateral approval granted to Karnataka to proceed with the preparation of the detailed project report for the Mekedatu project. “The Supreme Court will give its verdict after getting the response of both the governments,” he said.
When asked about the continued opposition from the farmers for the Salem–Chennai eight-lane green corridor road, Mr. Palaniswami said the State had got a green corridor project, which was only the second such prestigious project in the country. The State should grab this opportunity in the interest of overall development of Tamil Nadu. Eight-lane and ten-lane roads were common in many foreign countries three decades ago, he said.
His government was for the development of similar infrastructure facilities and has launched various effective initiatives in this direction.
Compensation issue
The Chief Minister dismissed the allegation that compensation was not provided to farmers whose lands were acquired for the four-lane project executed ealier.
“A case in this regard is pending in court,” he said.