Chennai: “Why has the post of Vice Chairman of the Cauvery Technical Committee been left vacant for more than four months? The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government’s lethargic approach in protecting Tamil Nadu’s water rights deserves strong condemnation,” said AMMK General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran.
In a statement issued by him on this, he said, “Even after the government order was issued to appoint a qualified and experienced person to the post of Vice Chairman of the Cauvery Technical Committee and the Inter-State Water Resources Division, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government’s negligent attitude in delaying the appointment is strongly condemnable.
Already, the engineer who had been serving as the deputy chairman of the Cauvery Technical Committee completed his tenure and retired last June itself. Even after more than four months, the fact that a suitable person has not been selected and appointed to that post raises questions not only about the administrative competence of the DMK government, but also about the livelihood of Tamil Nadu farmers.
In matters concerning river water disputes such as the Cauvery, Mullaperiyar, Krishna, and Parambikulam–Aliyar, the role of the Deputy Chairman of the Cauvery Technical Committee is indispensable in carrying out various important tasks, including securing the rightful share of water due to Tamil Nadu, continuously monitoring the quantity of water flowing into Tamil Nadu, examining technical data, participating in Cauvery Management Authority meetings, and presenting strong arguments to uphold Tamil Nadu’s rights.
The public has raised doubts about how sincerely the TVK government, which is showing such indifference even in selecting and appointing a suitable person to the post of Vice Chairman of the Cauvery Technical Committee and the Inter-State Water Resources Division, will act in securing Tamil Nadu’s rightful share of water.
In a context where every action taken by the government in river-water disputes is directly linked to the livelihood of Tamil Nadu’s farmers and the state’s irrigation needs, the Taveka government must realize that keeping the post of Vice-Chairman of the Cauvery Technical Committee vacant for a prolonged period could cause a major setback in protecting inter-state river-water rights and in advancing the technical and administrative measures related to them.
Therefore, without allowing any compromise in protecting Tamil Nadu’s water rights, I urge the TVK government to immediately appoint, without delay, a person with the necessary qualifications and experience to the post of Vice Chairman of the Cauvery Technical Committee and the Inter-State Water Resources Division, and if an appointment to that post has already been made, to publicly disclose its details,” he said.