Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami will lead an all-party delegation, including representatives of various farmers’ associations, to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urge him to immediately set up the Cauvery Management Board, The Hindu reported.
The decision was taken at a meeting of 35 political parties and 14 farmers’ groups that the chief minister chaired at Fort St George in Chennai on Thursday. The government also agreed to speak to legal experts about issues the parties raised. The matter was “part of every person in the state”, Palaniswani said, urging the parties to keep aside their differences and unite to secure the state’s rights, The New Indian Express reported.
The Supreme Court in its February 16 verdict had ordered the Centre to set up the board within six weeks to ensure that its ruling is implemented. Tamil Nadu has for long pushed for the board to be set up. “When we say so, we also categorically convey that the need-based monthly release [of water] has to be respected,” the judges had said. “It is hereby made clear that no extension shall be granted for framing of the scheme [the water management board] on any ground.”
The prime minister will be in Chennai on February 24 for J Jayalalithaa’s birth anniversary.
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