Govt will work diligently to get TN share: Dy CM

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Friday said that the government would work diligently to get to farmers and people of the state, the 177.25 tmcft apportioned by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court earlier on Friday directed the Karnataka government to release 177.25 tmcft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu from its inter-state Biligundlu dam.

"The government will diligently work to bring the 177.25 tmcft, apportioned by the Supreme Court to Tamil Nadu, to the farmers and the people," he said.

The judgement clarified that Karnataka will now have an enhanced share of 14.75 tmcft water per year, while Tamil Nadu will get 404.25 tmcft, which will be 14.75 tmcft less than what was allotted by the tribunal in 2007.

Panneerselvam said the government's formal reaction to the verdict would follow after a scrutiny of the judgement.

On opposition DMK's charge that the state government had not properly presented the state's case before the apex court, leading to lower Cauvery water allocation to Tamil Nadu, he said that the DMK, despite being part of the Congress-led UPA at the Centre, could not even get the tribunals final award published in the Central gazette.

"When did the DMK get us Cauvery water? I would like to remind that the DMK regime, despite being part of the Congress-led UPA could not even get the tribunals final award published in the Central gazette," Panneerselvam said.

Earlier, DMK working M K Stalin had demanded a meeting of political parties and farmers associations to decide on the next course of action on the Cauvery issue.

He termed the verdict a "shocker" and accused the Palaniswami regime of not properly presenting the state's case before the apex court and losing it.

Stalin recalled that when DMK chief M Karunanidhi was chief minister, he got the Cauvery Tribunal set up, worked to get its interim and final award.

"But all such rights (got through the interim, final awards of the tribunal) have been squandered by the AIADMK regime," he alleged and taunted the ruling party as a "horse-trading regime."

While the final award was pronounced in 2007, the gazette notification was done by the Centre in 2013 following a Supreme Court order during the previous AIADMK regime, when late J Jayalalithaa was Chief Minister.

The Deputy Chief Minister said it was Jayalalithaa who had waged "historic battles" for getting Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

Film star Kamal Haasan, who is set to embark on his political journey, on Friday appealed to both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to maintain amity in the wake of the Supreme Court judgement on sharing of Cauvery waters between the two states.

While expressing disappointment over the apex court awarding lower quantum of water to Tamil Nadu as against the demand, he said the consoling factor was that the court had maintained that the rivers are common and do not belong to anybody.