Chief ministers of southern states on Thursday discussed regional water disputes , parliamentary delimitation demands, and more devolution of funds in proportion to their central tax pool contribution in a regional council meeting chaired by Union home minister Amit Shah .
At the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council in Mahabalipuram, Karnataka chief minister DK Shivakumar backed the controversial Mekedatu project, Tamil Nadu CM C Joseph Vijay underlined the rights of lower riparian states, Kerala CM VD Satheesan said his state would fund the Mullaiperiyar dam, Telangana deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu called for resolving Krishna river water dispute with Andhra Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu proposed a Godavari-Cauvery river-linking project.
All three states are ruled by the Congress. Vijay urged the Union government to provide a clear legislative assurance that no state will suffer a reduction in its percentage of representation in Parliament. The meeting was attended by Vijay, Naidu, Shivakumar, Satheesan, Puducherry lieutenant governor K Kailashnathan, Andaman and Nicobar Islands lieutenant governor Admiral (retired.) D.K Joshi, Lakshadweep administrator Praful Patel, and Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu. Chief secretaries, advisers and other senior officers of the state governments, as well as senior officers of the central government, also attended the meeting. The Council was hosted by the TVK -led Tamil Nadu government.
Shivakumar also urged the council to adopt a resolution calling upon the Union government to honour the 1971 census as the basis for delimitation, retain the Lok Sabha’s existing strength of 543 seats for the next 25 years, and accommodate women’s reservation within these existing seats – a view the Karnataka chief minister said was supported by Satheesan and Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu.
Shah said the foundation of India’s progress was development of southern states, which rested on three pillars – high literacy rate, trained manpower and technical expertise in utilisation of the deep sea – while their progress depended on water. The southern states agreed with the Home Minister’s suggestion to resolve these pending water disputes expeditiously through mutual dialogue and constructive solutions, the Press Information Bureau said in a statement. “Regarding issues concerning the division of assets and liabilities between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, both states agreed to resolve these matters in consultation with the ministry of home affairs,” the statement added. He also requested the home minister to call a separate meeting to resolve water sharing issues “amicably” and added that he had assured the home minister that except 5 TMC (thousand million cubic feet), all water from Mekedatu will flow into Tamil Nadu. “So, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will be rest assured and a dam will be built for you and not for us,” he said. Earlier reporting noted: “As the freeze on the allocation of Lok Sabha seats based on the 1971 Census approaches its end and the Delimitation Bill, 2026, is considered, there is a genuine and shared concern across the Southern States that delimitation based predominantly on populations may diminish our collective voice in Parliament,” the Tamil Nadu CM said.
Earlier reporting noted: Along with Vijay , Karnataka chief minister DK Shivakumar and Andhra Pradesh’s N Chandrababu Naidu were also in attendance at the meeting at the Taj Fisherman’s Cove hotel in Kovalam, Chengalpet district in Tamil Nadu. Earlier reporting noted: Tamil Nadu CM Vijay keeps three requests before home minister Amit Shah – delimitation, NEET and… Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday participated in the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council along with other CMs of the region and made three key requests before Union home minister Amit Shah — one on delimitation, another on NEET and a third on drug control.
