NEW DELHI: Stepping in to defuse the Mullaiperiyar dam crisis, the Centre has decided to convene an inter-state meeting on Mullaiperiyar early next week.The meeting is likely to be held on December 5 in which Water Resources secretaries of both the states will discuss the matter in the presence of Union water resources Secretary. The date was finalised after Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s meeting with the PM and the Water Resources minister.This meeting will be followed by minister level talks in the presence of Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. And depending on the results of the meeting, the PM is likely to convene the meeting of the CMs of both the states.According to sources in the government, the ministry has managed to convince TN Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to send in her team officials for the proposed meeting. “The TN Chief Minister was quite reluctant at first as she was of the view that sending her team to Delhi could be perceived as stepping down. But with PMO’s timely intervention, she has agreed to send her team,’’ said an official with the Ministry. After meeting the PM, Chandy said that Centre has accepted Kerala’s demand that it should intervene to find an early solution to the issue. Comparing his concerns to Jayalithaa’s opposition to the Koodankulam power plant, he said that both CMs are concerned about their people’s security. “We are ready to give the same quantity of water and any kind of assurance—agreement between the states, tripartite agreement in the presence of Centre and we are ready to give assurance in Court,” he said. AIADMK MPs also met Singh and sought his intervention immediately after Chandy’s visit.
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