Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala and Tamil Nadu have agreed to review the Parambikulam-Aliyar water-sharing agreement signed in May 1970 with retrospective effect from November 1958.
The agreement was to have been renewed in 1988 as its term ended, but it did not happen due to disputes.
This decision to review the agreement was taken at a meeting between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Tamil Nadu counterpart Edappadi K. Palaniswamy here on Wednesday.
The previous agreement provides for the diversion of a total of 30.5 tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet) annually from Kerala to Tamil Nadu. Also, Kerala should get 7.25 tmc ft through Manacadvu weir and 12.3 tmc ft at its Sholayar dam.
Both states agreed to form secretary-level committees to draft the new agreement to resolve other inter-state water-sharing issues.
Each committee will have five members, including technical experts. The members and the first meeting venue will be announced in a week.
The committee will also discuss the Anamalayar and Neelar-Nellar diversion and issues at Manakadavu.
The meeting decided to supply electricity to Tamil Nadu from Mullapperiyar dam. The chief secretaries of the two states will meet once in six months. A decision was also taken to entrust the Pandiyar-Punapuzha project issues with officers of the electricity boards of the two states. Mr Vijayan said that the two states will find a formula to settle the issue.
Palaniswamy said that the farmers of Tamil Nadu and Kerala are brothers. "The talks were a good beginning," he said.
This is the first meeting between the chief ministers of the two states in 15 years. In 2004, the then chief ministers J. Jayalalithaa and Oommen Chandy had met in Chennai.
