Southern Zonal Council meet: Tamil Nadu CM Vijay seeks fair, equitable treatment of southern States from Centre

At the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay emphasized the need for the Centre to provide fair and equitable treatment to southern States. He argued that southern States have been principal drivers of India's economic growth and should not be disadvantaged in the upcoming Finance Commission. The meeting, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saw participation from chief ministers of Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, among others.

Vijay stressed that the fiscal devolution framework must recognize both need and performance. After the introduction of GST, southern States now have virtually no flexible revenue levers outside of petroleum and alcohol. He called for reclaiming flexibility in tax rate determination by working together to recommend tax rates, including floor rates with bands of GST.

Addressing shared rivers, Vijay proposed that two principles must guide cooperation. First, the legitimate rights of lower riparian States and livelihoods dependent on assured river flows must be fully protected, and second, Supreme Court judgments, tribunal awards, and statutory mechanisms for river management must be implemented in letter and spirit.

On the Cauvery, he emphasized the importance of timely implementation of the Supreme Court's judgment and decisions of the Cauvery Water Management Authority. For Mullai Periyar, he stressed the need for safety to be guided by judicial decisions for increasing water level to 152 feet. He assured that with mutual trust, scientific evidence, and respect for the law, every riparian State's interests can be protected while strengthening the spirit of cooperative federalism.