Chief ministers from southern states convened on Thursday to address several critical issues during a regional council meeting led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The discussions focused on ongoing regional water disputes, demands for parliamentary delimitation, and the need for increased devolution of funds that reflect the states’ contributions to the central tax pool.
At the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council in Mahabalipuram, Karnataka chief minister DK Shivakumar backed the controversial Mekedatu project, Tamil Nadu CM C Joseph Vijay underlined the rights of lower riparian states, Kerala CM VD Satheesan said his state would fund the Mullaiperiyar dam, Telangana deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu called for resolving Krishna river water dispute with Andhra Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu proposed a Godavari-Cauvery river-linking project.
Earlier reporting noted: Tamil Nadu CM Vijay keeps three requests before home minister Amit Shah – delimitation, NEET and… Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday participated in the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council along with other CMs of the region and made three key requests before Union home minister Amit Shah — one on delimitation, another on NEET and a third on drug control. All three states are ruled by the Congress. Vijay urged the Union government to provide a clear legislative assurance that no state will suffer a reduction in its percentage of representation in Parliament. The meeting was attended by Vijay, Naidu, Shivakumar, Satheesan, Puducherry lieutenant governor K Kailashnathan, Andaman and Nicobar Islands lieutenant governor Admiral (retired.) D.K Joshi, Lakshadweep administrator Praful Patel, and Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu. Chief secretaries, advisers and other senior officers of the state governments, as well as senior officers of the central government, also attended the meeting. “On the Cauvery issue, the timely implementation of the Supreme Court’s judgement and the decisions of the Cauvery Water Management Authority remains essential. The Council was hosted by the TVK -led Tamil Nadu government.
Shivakumar also urged the council to adopt a resolution calling upon the Union government to honour the 1971 census as the basis for delimitation, retain the Lok Sabha’s existing strength of 543 seats for the next 25 years, and accommodate women’s reservation within these existing seats – a view the Karnataka chief minister said was supported by Satheesan and Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu. His comments came against the backdrop of a push by the Union government to pass constitution amendment bills that implement the 33% women’s reservation in state assemblies and the Lok Sabha through delimitation. In April this year, the constitution amendment bill to increase the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats from 550 to 850 and link the women’s quota with the last published census failed to garner the required two-thirds majority. On the Mullaiperiyar, the safety must continue to be guided by judicial decisions for increasing the water level to 152 feet.
The southern states agreed with the Home Minister’s suggestion to resolve these pending water disputes expeditiously through mutual dialogue and constructive solutions, the Press Information Bureau said in a statement. “Regarding issues concerning the division of assets and liabilities between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, both states agreed to resolve these matters in consultation with the ministry of home affairs,” the statement added. He also requested the home minister to call a separate meeting to resolve water sharing issues “amicably” and added that he had assured the home minister that except 5 TMC (thousand million cubic feet), all water from Mekedatu will flow into Tamil Nadu. “So, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will be rest assured and a dam will be built for you and not for us,” he said. Vijay said that the legitimate rights of lower-riparian states and the livelihoods that depend on assured river flows must be fully protected. Any upstream intervention with the potential to affect the rightful share of another State must proceed only within this legal and institutional framework,” Vijay said.
Earlier reporting noted: Along with Vijay , Karnataka chief minister DK Shivakumar and Andhra Pradesh’s N Chandrababu Naidu were also in attendance at the meeting at the Taj Fisherman’s Cove hotel in Kovalam, Chengalpet district in Tamil Nadu. Earlier reporting noted: Delimitation Bill Delimitation Bill
