O Paneerselvam asks Prime Minister to stop Kerala dam work on Bhavani

O Panneerselvam added that Kerala should be advised against starting any project without the prior concurrence of the Tamil Nadu government and until the Cauvery Management board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee came into effect and judicial issues were settled. 

Referring to two check dams at Thekkuvattai and Manjikandi where levelling work had allegedly started, Panneerselvam said the construction work had caused anxiety among the people of Tamil Nadu. Referring to the special leave petitions filed by Kerala and Karnataka governments against the final orders of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal on February 5, 2007 in the Supreme Court, he said the apex court had fixed the hearing on February 7, 2017. 

The matter was sub-judice as the Cauvery Management Board has not yet been constituted as per the orders of the Supreme Court.

A 10-member Central drought team headed by Vasudha Mishra of the National Cooperative Development Corporation, visited drought-affected Tamil Nadu and will meet in Chennai.

The team split into four groups and did the field survey. Interacting with Chief Minister O Panneerselvam earlier, Vasudha said the team report would be submitted at the earliest. Panneerselvam said that 13,305 of the 16, 682 revenue villages were drought-hit and the rain deficit in the state ranged from 35 per cent to 81 per cent which worsened after the Karnataka government refused to release Cauvery water. 

While 15 major irrigation reservoirs had only 13 per cent storage as of December 2016 end, the combined storage in the four reservoirs serving Chennai was only 1.34 tmc as on January 21 compared to 9.53 tmc in 2016. Panneerselvam requested funds to meet drinking water shortage, fodder, crop damage and employment generation.