EPS To Lead All-Party Team To Meet Modi, Press For Cauvery Management Board

An all-party delegation, led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) from Tamil Nadu will soon meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the immediate setting up of the Cauvery Management Board.

A decision to meet Modi and press for the Cauvery Management Board was taken after a day-long all-party meeting chaired by EPS at the Secretariat on Thursday (22 February), media reports said. The delegation could try and meet the Prime Minister during his visit to Chennai on Saturday (24 February). (Modi is likely to launch Tamil Nadu’s much-publicised Amma two-wheeler scheme for women at Chennai on 24 February. Under this scheme, working women with annual income less than Rs 2.5 two lakh will be given 50 per or Rs 25,000 subsidy to buy mopeds.)

Three resolutions were passed at the all-party meeting with the main one being setting up of the Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulatory Authority within six weeks. The six weeks is from 16 February 2018 when the Supreme Court cut water allocation for Tamil Nadu by 14.5 thousand million cubic (TMC) feet.

The EPS-led All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Government agreed to the all parties demand to consult legal experts on all aspects of the Cauvery dispute to take necessary action.

Leader of the Opposition M K Stalin was among the 35 parties, including the Congress and BJP, and 14 farmers’ associations that took part in the all-party meeting.