Cabinet panel agrees to change Sethu canal alignment

The Congress-led Centre appears to have caved into pressure from its southern ally, the DMK, on the issue of the Sethu Samudram canal project.

The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs(CCPA) met today to deliberate the affidavit to be presented to the Supreme Court on the issue in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). Its verdict: Agree to a changed alignment for the canal and ask for permission to start dredging operations in the area.

The approval, however, was not without protests. According to top Congress sources, Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni disagreed with the draft affidavit saying the government should instead ask for more time from the court. Soni, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal and Law Minister Hansraj Bharadwaj were special invitees to the meeting.

Soni's ministry was at the centre of a controversy when an affidavit by her ministry said that since there was no Lord Ram, Adam's bridge, a coral reef between India and Sri Lanka, could not have been man-made. This created a storm and the government was forced to withdraw the affidavit. The matter has been hanging fire since.

The Congress is in no hurry over the project, which is mainly being pushed by the DMK. Therefore, the decision to approve an affidavit means aome fresh pressure has been brought to bear on the government.

"The previous solution being pondered over by the government was to refer the matter to an experts committee to buy time, but this seems to have been shelved," said a top source in the Congress.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who presided over the meeting, has asked the members of the CCPA to firm up their opinions for a final meeting on the issue on Thursday.