CHENNAI: The BJP-led NDA government is going full swing in introducing and passing many bills for which Ordinances were promulgated a few months ago, during the current session of Parliament.
During the process, within a fortnight, the Centre has introduced at least three Bills – Dam Safety Bill, Inter-State Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill and the National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill – which are considered against the interests of Tamil Nadu and snatching the powers of State governments, although BJP leaders are denying it. Of the three, two relate to disputes over water concerning Tamil Nadu.
A Veerappan, expert in water issues and president, Tamil Nadu PWD Senior Engineers Association, comes down heavily on both the water-related Bills. “Through these two Bills, the Central government takes over the functions and responsibilities of the State governments. In other words, the Centre is taking away the State’s autonomy, its privileges and rights.”
“This legislation is unwarranted. It is not required at all. If at all the Centre wants to bring in uniform guidelines, it can be passed on to the State governments as in other cases. For a single purpose of dam safety, there will be many committees. So, quick decisions cannot be taken during emergency situations. For example, if a breach occurs at Mukkombu like the one last year, immediate decisions on setting it right cannot be taken by the local authorities without consulting the Central organisations,” he said.
“Clause 24 says all specified dams shall fall under the jurisdiction of the State Dam Safety Organisation of the State in which such dam is situated in matters relating to dam inspections, recommendations regarding safety status, and remedial measures to be undertaken to improve dam safety. This would directly affect Tamil Nadu which owns four dams – Mullaiperiyar, Parambikulam, Thunakkadavu and Peruvaripallam – since the rights over maintenance etc., will go to Kerala,” he said.
The Bill says that for raising the level of the reservoir, national or State level committee has to give its approval. So, Tamil Nadu government cannot decide the storage level of Mullaiperiyar dam. Kerala has, till now, accepted the Supreme Court’s verdict that the dam is strong. So, in the future, if Kerala says the dam is not safe, it can be demolished.
Veerappan took strong exception to the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill too. The Bill which ensures setting up of a single tribunal, instead of multiple tribunals for inter-State water disputes, will take away the rights of States.
The danger Tamil Nadu will face because of this Bill is that Karnataka will revive the Cauvery dispute saying it was not satisfied with the SC verdict and file a petition before this tribunal and the hearing in the case can go on for many more years. Until the petition is disposed, Karnataka will not release water to Tamil Nadu. The Cauvery Authority will remain only on paper.“At present, each tribunal is handling the inter-State water disputes which have distinct issues. One issue will not resemble the other. Water disputes cannot be treated like awarding punishment for murder or theft, according to the CrPC,” he said.
Veerappan also questioned the reason given by the Centre for bringing in this Bill - that the existing tribunals are taking too much time for resolving the disputes. In the case of Cauvery Tribunal, the delay was not due to the tribunals, but due to the Centre,” he said.
VCK general secretary and MP representing Villupuram, D Ravikumar charged that the National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill has taken away the powers of State governments. The subject – law and order, now in the State List has been taken away by the Centre. “How come human trafficking and offences relating to counterfeit currency or bank notes, which are under the jurisdiction of the State government, be brought to the Central jurisdiction? The Bill also empowers Centre in declaring sessions courts in States as designated courts. This is a clear violation of authority by the Central government,” he said.
Doctors dharna against national Med Commission Bill
Chennai: Government doctors held a dharna at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital here on Wednesday to register their protest against the National Medical Commission Bill 2019 that was passed by Lok Sabha. The dharna was organised by Federation of Government Doctors Association.
Meanwhile, Indian Medical Association had called for a nationwide one-day strike on Wednesday suspending non-emergency and out-patient services across the country to oppose the legislation. The Tamil Nadu State Indian Medical Association also joined the strike. However, many hospitals in the city functioned as usual.