CM: Will approach SC if needed in river linking

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government will approach the Supreme Court if required to protect the state’s interests in the river inter-linking issue, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told the Assembly on Tuesday.Replying to a submission by K Sivadasan Nair, Chandy said that the legal advice the state had received now said Kerala was safe as the committee recommended by the Supreme Court for inter-linking of rivers was intended for concurring states. Kerala’s objections on the interlinking of Pampa-Achenkoil-Vaipar rivers had been noted.“The proposed linkage is not acceptable to the state at any cost. The state has never acknowledged it has surplus water in the Pampa and Achenkoil rivers. They are not inter-state rivers and they originate and flow within the state’s territories,’’ he said.It was on February 27 that a Supreme Court Bench comprising Chief Justice S H Kapadia, Justice A K Patnaik and Justice Swatanter Kumar asked the Centre to set up a committee for the inter-linking of rivers.Chandy said that the state had an open mind on the issue. The State Government will seek additional advice from legal experts and, if required, will approach the Supreme Court, he said.Sivadasan Nair said that if the interlinking was effected, Central Travancore and the Kuttanad basin would be adversely affected.