Puducherry: Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy on Sunday accused the Tamil Nadu Government of ‘disrespecting’ the 1961 interstate agreement by refusing to release water from the Veedur dam in Villupuram district for farm use in the union territory.
“The release of water for Mannadipet block was stopped this year by Tamil Nadu and our request to them is to enforce the water agreement in letter and spirit. Puducherry farmers are dependent on the water for irrigation purposes. I am also planning to write to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami seeking immediate release of water,” he told reporters here.
Contending that Puducherry has a share in the water from the Veedur dam in Villupuram district under an interstate agreement inked in 1961, Narayanasamy said the pact was inked to ensure that the irrigation requirements of farmers in the Mannadipet constituency in the union territory are met.
The deal ensured availability of water for Puducherry for 175 days to enable farmers here to get water for cultivation on an extent of 1,400 hectares from the dam, he said. The Veedur dam is located in the catchment areas of Varaha river and Thondiaru in Villupuram district and had been a source of irrigation for farmlands in the constituency.
The chief minister also accused the Tamil Nadu Government of not releasing Puducherry's share of 6 tmcft of Cauvery water released to it by the Karnataka Government. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Ke-rala and Puducherry share Cauvery water.
On AIADMK’s demand that Congress and DMK MLAs should step down from the posts of chairmen and parliamentary secretary made to CM, he said: “The MLAs belonging to Congress and the DMK were appointed chairmen of the PSUs or Parliamentary Secretary to Chief Minister here as per the Act adopted in the
territorial Assembly in the past. We took utmost care before appointing the MLAs to the posts of chairmen and parliamentary Secretary and therefore the situation in Puducherry is different from New Delhi”, he claimed.
