Chennai: Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah batted for early resolution of water sharing disputes among southern states through dialogue involving the Union govt. Shah also pitched for interlinking of rivers from Brahmaputra to Cauvery and Godavari to ensure that India faced no water shortage for the next 100 years.“We have succeeded in making water-related issues dispute-free across entire North India; we will also have to think afresh on issues of water sharing in South India,” Shah said at the 31st meeting of Southern Zonal Council in Mamallapuram.He said southern states were among the main pillars of the country’s progress, but their development depended on water. “Protecting the interests of one’s state is not wrong. However, if the process of protecting interests results in states being deprived of water for years while it simply flows into the sea, then no actual interest is being served,” he said.Emphasising the need for faster resolution of the water sharing disputes, Shah said joint meetings could be held between respective states, Union ministry of Jal Shakti, Home Affairs and the Inter-State Council for the purpose. A PIB statement said the southern states agreed with the home minister’s suggestion to resolve these pending water disputes expeditiously `through mutual dialogue and constructive solutions.’Shah said interlinking rivers from Brahmaputra to Cauvery and Godavari could ensure that India faced no water shortage for the next 100 years. Such a network could also create multiple waterways, reducing fuel consumption, improving the environment and providing a cost-effective transport system, he said.On the division of assets and liabilities between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the statement quoted Shah as saying that the two states had agreed to resolve the pending issues in consultation with ministry of home affairs.The meeting was attended by Tamil Nadu CM C Joseph Vijay, AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu, Karnataka CM D K Shivakumar, Kerala CM V D Satheesan and senior representatives of other southern states and Union territories.
