TN says will study Cauvery scheme as opposition voices concern
Chennai, May 14: Even as Tamil Nadu government said that it would first study the Cauvery Draft Water Management Scheme submitted by the Centre in the Supreme Court on Monday, major state parties voiced opposition to the scheme.
Speaking to reporters in Madurai, Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam said that the state government would first study the draft scheme and then decide on the next course of action.
The Minister for Law, Courts and Prisons, C.Ve.Shanmugam told reporters that the state will submit its views on the scheme to the apex court on May 16.
On the other hand, major Tamil Nadu opposition parties voiced serious concern.
PMK founder S. Ramadoss said the draft scheme does not involve the power to implement the award of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal.
Ramadoss said the proposed body is "powerless and cannot implement the Tribunal's award".
Wondering who would implement the tribunal's award, the PMK leader said that dams built across the Cauvery in Karnataka will be under the control of that state, in which case that state's government will not abide by the decisions of the proposed body.
He said that the Centre's proposal brings back the water dispute to the starting point all over again.
Ramadoss demanded that the Tamil Nadu government oppose the Centre's proposal on the Cauvery water sharing body.
DMK leader M.K. Stalin urged the Tamil Nadu government to call for an all-party meeting on Tuesday to discuss the setting up of the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) and arming it with legal power.
Stalin said that representatives of farmer associations should also be a party to the meeting.
The DMK leader raised concerns over when the Centre would fully implement the scheme, adding that it was Tamil Nadu government's responsibility to stress that it would not accept anything other than the CMB.
Stalin said the AIADMK government should call the meeting and stress its stand in the apex court on Wednesday, when it, along with other three southern states, has been called to submit response on the scheme.
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Three company directors held in Rs 100-crore investment fraud in Kochi
Kochi (Kerala) (PTI): Police on Sunday arrested three directors of a firm accused of cheating hundreds of investors of over Rs 100 crore through a fake investment scheme linked to agricultural tourism here, officials said.
The accused were identified as Muraleedharan, Ashik Murali and Akhil Murali, all natives of Thrissur.
The arrests were made by the Kalamassery police in connection with a fraud involving ATCOS (Agri Tourism Cooperative Society), a firm headquartered at Pathadipalam here.
Police said the company had promised high returns by collecting investments from the public in the agricultural tourism sector, but allegedly cheated hundreds of people and fled with the money.
ATCOS was registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act and operated 13 branches across various districts in Kerala, besides a branch in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, officials said.
When investors failed to receive their promised returns or the invested amount, complaints were filed with the police.
Officials said around 54 cases have been registered against the firm in 32 police stations across the state, including 29 cases at the Kalamassery police station alone.
Following instructions from Kochi City Police Commissioner K S Mahesh Kumar, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shehensha and Thrikkakara ACP Manoj Kumar.
The team traced the accused to an apartment in Amala Nagar in Thrissur, where they had been hiding after secretly renting the flat, officials said.
The bank accounts of the accused have been frozen, and steps have been initiated to trace their assets, officials said.
Police also conducted a raid at the company’s office at Pathadipalam and seized several documents related to the case.
The accused were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kalamassery, which remanded them to judicial custody and sent them to Kakkanad jail.
Police said they would seek the custody of the accused for further interrogation as the investigation continues.
