Dam talks in the offing

NEW DELHI: In a crucial move, the Union Government has invited Water Resources officials from Tamil Nadu and Kerala for discussions on the Mullaperiyar dam issue and apparently both the states have agreed for the talks.Significantly, this move has happened on a day when the Supreme Court-appointed expert committee decided to send two experts to visit the dam site for an on-the-spot assessment.Union Water Resources Ministry sent out letters to secretaries of Water Resources departments of both the states inviting them for a meeting on the issue either on December 15 or 16.If that takes place, then this will be the first official meeting between the two sides on the issue since 2007.“The Water Resources Ministry has sent out letter to both the states. What the Union Secretary told me is that Tamil Nadu has conveyed its willingness to attend the meeting. It is wrong to say that TN will boycot  the meeting convened by the Centre,” K Jayakumar, Additional Chief Secretary of the Kerala Government told Express after his meeting with the Union Water Resources Secretary.The Tamil Nadu Government had issued a press release last week stating that it has decided not to participate in the informal discussion on the Mullaperiyar dam dispute in New Delhi.But according to Jayakumar, Tamil Nadu could not attend the meeting due to some “inconvenience”.Confirming this, an official with the Water Resources Ministry told Express that decks have been cleared for the meeting.Asked whether TN has agreed for the meeting he said: “We don’t anticipate any problems. Only the dates have to be finalised.”The Centre’s decision to invite officials also comes in the wake of several political parties from both states meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and seeking his intervention on the issue.The Prime Minister had written to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister  J Jayalalithaa expressing the hope that “an amicable and mutually acceptable solution can be found through a process of dialogue and communication.”