Keralam has once again assured Tamil Nadu of its willingness to supply all water from the proposed new dam at Mullaperiyar, which will replace the 130-year-old structure in Idukki district.

Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan conveyed Keralam’s readiness in this regard at the 31st South Zonal Council Meeting held at Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, on Thursday (August 20, 2026). Mr. Satheesan has also reiterated the State’s stand that Kerala would bear the cost of the new dam, while Tamil Nadu should take responsibility for the design, construction and location.

Amid the conference, Mr. Satheesan also had a brief meeting with his Tamil Nadu counterpart Joseph Vijay.

At the Zonal Council Meeting, Mr. Satheesan urged the Union government to annul the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026, over which the State had already raised serious concerns. Mr. Satheesan urged the Centre not to auction mineral blocks off the Kerala coast “until a rigorous scientific assessment and a robust Standard Operating Procedure are in place, and that the concerns repeatedly raised by the State be given their due weight.” Mr. Satheesan said Kerala is “cooperating fully” with the Geological Survey of India and the Ministry of Mines in bringing its bauxite, beach sand and critical mineral blocks to auction. At the same time, he was placing on record the State’s “serious concern” regarding the offshore mining of sand off the Kerala coast, he said.

Further, Mr. Satheesan sought regional cooperation for developing Kerala as a ‘Port City’ under the State government’s Mission Samudra, which was formally launched on August 18.

On inter-State security, Mr. Satheesan called for a “unified enforcement front” to counter the trafficking of narcotics, movement of organised criminal gangs across State lines, illegal migration and emerging cyber threats. He proposed that each State designate a senior officer as an ‘Inter-State Police Nodal Officer’ and that structured arrangements for real-time intelligence sharing be institutionalised. Joint operations and patrolling also should be intensified along the State borders, he said.

On other matters, Mr. Satheesan expressed concern that the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, which Keralam implementes in a converged manner through the Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi, has become increasingly inequitable to Keralam. The State now bears close to 90% of the burden. In the last policy year, Keralam’s expenditure under the scheme stood at ₹1493 crore, while the assistance received from the National Health Authority was only about ₹151 crore.

Mr. Satheesan also urged the Centre to either fully exempt the Keralam State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses from the National Highway toll or offer them a “substantially concessional” toll tariff. In June this year alone, the KSRTC remitted over ₹2.16 crore towards the NH toll, he said. Mr. Satheesan also called for support for the Thalassery-Mysore and Nilambur-Nanjangud rail lines, and requested the Centre to permit coastal protection works and resettlement of erosion-displaced families under the National and State Disaster Response and Mitigation Funds. He also opined that women be given one-third reservation without effecting an increase in the total strength of the Parliament.

Published - August 20, 2026 03:44 pm IST