THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Aug 20: The 22nd meeting of the Southern Zonal Council held here today could not reach an agreement on the vexed issues of sharing of river water and power and decided to refer them to the Inter-State Council.Briefing newsmen on the deliberations of the one-day meeting, Union Home Minister Indrajit Gupta, who chaired the council said the five participating states - Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Pondicherry - accepted a suggestion made by him to evolve certain common guidelines for the sharing of river water. The Union Ministry of Water Resources would call a meeting of the states to evolve the guidelines, he said.The Home Minister said water and power were emotive issues that could arouse passion. The only way to solve them was through discussions.``You cannot solve the issue by inciting people of different states to break their head over the matter. The solution can be found only through discussions,'' he said.The Council felt that natural resources like river waters were being wasted due to the non-implementation of several hydro-power projects.The Home Minister urged the southern states, Ministry of Water Resources and Ministry of Power to expeditiously settle the question of equitable apportionment of waters.The Council also advised the member states to set up ground water authorities on the lines of the Central Ground Water Authority.The Council emphasised the need for narrowing down the differences in the rate of Sales Tax and excise duty between the states and union territories and referred the matter to the Inter-State Council.
