Farmers' Association demands explanation from Stalin on two issues
Talking to the media at Tiruvarur on July 9, the Committee president, P. R. Pandian has said that recently, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar has declared that works relating to setting up of Mekedatu Dam Project office had commenced and the dam would come up once the Central Government accords its sanction.
While responding to the Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister's claim, the Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, H. D. Kumaraswamy from Karnataka, has pointed out that it would not be possible to go ahead with the Mekedatu project without the consent of Tamil Nadu.
Further, the Union Minister had indicated that permission from the Central Government could be obtained if the ruling Congress party (at Karnataka) gets the approval for the Mekedatu project from their alliance partner, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu.
Subsequently, the Karnataka Chief Minister had declared that the works relating to the construction of Mekedatu Dam had commenced, Mr. Pandian pointed out and added that the reticence on the part of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister in this issue has raised doubts among the Delta farmers that the State government had silently conceded the Upper Riparian State's demand.
Seeking an explanation from Mr.Stalin on this issue, the Committee president said that the Delta farmers also seek the reason for not publishing the Sultan Ahmed Ismail Committee report on the study of the impact of exploration and extraction of hydrocarbon projects in Delta region.
He demanded explanations from the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister on these two major issues having direct impact on the livelihood of the Delta farmers.
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