Chennai The Tamil Nadu Cabinet today met at the State Secretariat here today. The meeting was chaired by Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam, who has been allocated the portfolios of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who has been hospitalised since September 22.

According to sources, the meeting that lasted for an hour discussed the issues related to Cauvery water dispute, appointment of special officers to local bodies, the recent High Court order staying registration of unapproved lands and other issues.

Chief Secretary P. Rama Mohana Rao, Adviser to Tamil Nadu Government Sheela Balakrishnan and several higher officials were present. This is the first Cabinet meeting after Jayalalithaa’s hospitalisation.

On October 11, State Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao, on the advice of Chief Minister, allocated the portfolios that she held to Panneerselvam, adding that he would chair the Cabinet meetings in her absence.

Today’s meeting comes in the backdrop of the ongoing water sharing row with Karnataka and the opposition parties’ demand for an all-party meeting and Assembly session on the issue.

Various farmers’ associations and political parties staged a State-wide rail blockade on Monday and Tuesday and urged the Centre to constitute Cauvery Management Board immediately. It may be noted, opposition parties have been alleging that the report submitted by the Cauvery High-level Technical Committee in the Supreme Court did not address Tamil Nadu’s concerns adequately.

On Tuesday, the Tamil Nadu Government has sought permission from the Supreme Court to submit its objections to the report.