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Baalu betrays colossal lack of understanding: Paneerselvam

By Our Special Correspondent

Chennai Oct. 18. Lashing out at the Union Minister, T.R. Baalu, for his "colossal lack of understanding" on the Cauvery issue, the Tamil Nadu PWD Minister, O. Paneerselvam, today said he had betrayed his failure to approach the Prime Minister for ensuring that the State got its due share of Cauvery water from Karnataka.

Joining issue with the DMK Minister, who claimed lower riparian rights could be exercised only in a normal year, Mr. Paneerselvam said Mr. Baalu was not even aware that the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, in its interim order, had said a pro-rata sharing of distress could be adopted in case of "diminution in water supply".

Also, the Central Water Commission had evolved a pro-rata distress-sharing formula, which was circulated to all basin States on April 26, 2002. But the Karnataka Chief Minister, S. M. Krishna, adopted an "unrelenting and unreasonable" stand, not accepting the formula.

Questioning the "tall claim" by Mr. Baalu that the DMK Government had ensured flow of Cauvery water by maintaining congenial relations with Karnataka, Mr. Paneerselvam said the former PWD Minister, Durai Murugan's trips to Bangalore yielded only a "motley of headgears and not a drop of water."

But Ms. Jayalalithaa, immediately after taking over as Chief Minister, sought a "convenient date" for the Chief Secretary and the PWD Minister to meet Karnataka officials for discussing the Cauvery issue. However, Mr. Krishna "hedged and evaded" a meeting.

Mr. Paneerselvam found fault with Mr.Baalu for also having said that the Prime Minister had done "enough" in the Cauvery issue, when Karnataka continued to brazenly disobey the orders of the Supreme Court and the Cauvery River Authority.

The Minister hit out Mr. Baalu for trying to "drag Ms. Jayalalithaa into an unnecessary controversy", daring her to ask him to resign on the Cauvery issue.

"As Mr.Baalu has exposed his ineffectiveness in approaching the Prime Minister on the issue, the least he can do now is to desist from revealing his utter ignorance on the subject."

`Blind' statement

In an immediate reply to the PWD Minister's rejoinder, Mr. Baalu said he had only pointed out that in the absence of a final and agreed upon distress-sharing formula between the States, it was essential to hold consultations and find an amicable solution to sharing of available water. Without understanding that, Mr. Paneerselvam had "blindly" issued a statement, Mr. Baalu noted. Hurling "false charges" and issuing statements had become this Government's "full time work".

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