Ready to give all water to Tamil Nadu from new dam at Mullaperiyar, says V.D. Satheesan

Keralam has as soon as once more assured Tamil Nadu of its willingness to provide all water from the proposed new dam at Mullaperiyar, which can change the 130-year-old construction in Idukki district.

Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan conveyed Keralam’s readiness on this regard on the thirty first Southern Zonal Council Assembly held at Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, on Thursday (August 20, 2026). Mr. Satheesan has additionally reiterated the State’s stand that Keralam would bear the price of the brand new dam, whereas Tamil Nadu ought to take accountability for the design, development and placement.

Amid the convention, Mr. Satheesan additionally had a short assembly together with his Tamil Nadu counterpart C. Joseph Vijay.

On the Zonal Council Assembly, Mr. Satheesan urged the Union authorities to annul the Mines and Minerals (Improvement and Regulation) Modification Act, 2026, over which the State had already raised severe considerations. Mr. Satheesan urged the Centre to not public sale mineral blocks off the Keralam coast “till a rigorous scientific evaluation and a sturdy Normal Working Process are in place, and that the considerations repeatedly raised by the State be given their due weight.” Mr. Satheesan stated Keralam is “cooperating absolutely” with the Geological Survey of India and the Ministry of Mines in bringing its bauxite, seaside sand and demanding mineral blocks to public sale. On the identical time, he was putting on document the State’s “severe concern” concerning the offshore mining of sand off the Keralam coast, he stated.

Additional, Mr. Satheesan sought regional cooperation for creating Keralam as a ‘Port Metropolis’ beneath the State authorities’s Mission Samudra, which was formally launched on August 18.

On interstate safety, Mr. Satheesan referred to as for a “unified enforcement entrance” to counter the trafficking of narcotics, motion of organised prison gangs throughout State traces, unlawful migration and rising cyber threats. He proposed that every State designate a senior officer as an ‘Interstate Police Nodal Officer’ and that structured preparations for real-time intelligence sharing be institutionalised. Joint operations and patrolling additionally must be intensified alongside the State borders, he stated.

On different issues, Mr. Satheesan expressed concern that the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, which Keralam applied in a converged method by means of the Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi, has change into more and more inequitable to Keralam. The State now bears near 90% of the burden. Within the final coverage 12 months, Keralam’s expenditure beneath the scheme stood at ₹1493 crore, whereas the help acquired from the Nationwide Well being Authority was solely about ₹151 crore.

Mr. Satheesan additionally urged the Centre to both absolutely exempt the Kerala State Highway Transport Company (KSRTC) buses from the Nationwide Freeway toll or provide them a “considerably concessional” toll tariff. In June this 12 months alone, the KSRTC remitted over ₹2.16 crore in the direction of the NH toll, he stated. Mr. Satheesan additionally referred to as for help for the Thalassery-Mysore and Nilambur-Nanjangud rail traces, and requested the Centre to allow coastal safety works and resettlement of erosion-displaced households beneath the Nationwide and State Catastrophe Response and Mitigation Funds. He additionally opined that ladies be given one-third reservation with out effecting a rise within the whole power of the Parliament.