Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s efforts to secure water from neighbouring states have exposed a striking political contrast. While Karnataka’s Congress leadership reportedly backed out of a proposed meeting to discuss Cauvery water despite Congress being an alliance partner of Vijay’s government in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, an NDA ally, responded positively to Vijay’s request for additional Krishna water for Chennai, as reported in NDTV.
Vijay had earlier proposed meeting Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar to discuss the Cauvery water dispute and the proposed Mekedatu dam project. However, Shivakumar reportedly asked Vijay to call off the proposed visit following opposition to the meeting within Karnataka.
The development came despite Congress being part of the ruling alliance in Tamil Nadu. Karnataka, meanwhile, continued to be at the centre of Tamil Nadu’s long-running dispute over the release of its share of Cauvery water.
In contrast, Vijay travelled to Vijayawada on October 13 and met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to discuss Chennai’s drinking water requirements and the proposed Godavari-Cauvery river-linking project.
Vijay urged Naidu to release additional Krishna water to Chennai, pointing out that the city’s five major reservoirs were holding only around 35% of their combined capacity.
Following the meeting, the Andhra Pradesh government agreed to release Krishna water to Chennai over the next two months under the existing Telugu Ganga arrangement.
Naidu also confirmed that Andhra Pradesh had already released 4.08 TMC of water to Chennai this year. He said that despite Andhra Pradesh’s own water constraints, his government remained committed to supporting Tamil Nadu while balancing the needs of its people.
The contrast has drawn attention to the difference between political alliances and actual cooperation on inter-state water issues. While a Congress government in Karnataka did not facilitate the proposed talks with its Tamil Nadu ally, Chandrababu Naidu, despite belonging to the BJP-led NDA, engaged directly with Vijay and agreed to facilitate additional water supply to Chennai.
The meeting has also revived hopes for the long-pending Godavari-Cauvery river-linking project, which could potentially improve water availability for agriculture and drinking-water requirements across southern India.
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