The Hindu : Front Page : Tamil Nadu action welcome: Minister

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Oct 17, 2005

Front Page

Front Page

Tamil Nadu action welcome: Minister

George Jacob

Kerala's apprehensions addressed; both Governments should hold more talks

ON-THE-SPOT STUDY: Minister for Water Resources Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan visiting the Mullaperiyar dam on Sunday. Photo: Johney Thomas

KUMILY: Kerala Irrigation Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, who visited the Mullaperiyar dam site on Sunday, dubbed the compliance on the part of the Tamil Nadu Government with the requests from the Kerala Government to remove the debris from the mouth of the spillway as a significant development in the decades-old inter-State water dispute.

Expressing satisfaction at the work done by the Tamil Nadu Government, which, according to him, would contain the water level at 136 ft. at the reservoir, Mr. Radhakrishnan said the act also showed that there is no need for tension in resolving sensitive issues such as inter-State water disputes.

According to him, the intension of the Kerala Government while taking up the issue of removal of the debris, accumulated deliberately or otherwise at the mouth of the spillway, was two-fold: one, the safety and security of a large section of the people who lived in the low-lying areas and two, resolution of the problem without a deterioration in the inter-State relations.

The State Government had stressed two things while discussing the issue with the Tamil Nadu Government - one, the misgivings about the safety of the dam among the people living down below following the rise in water level at the reservoir beyond the 136-ft. limit and two, the safety of the habitat of a large number of endemic and endangered species of flora and fauna at the Periyar Tiger Reserve on account of the increasing water level.

All these issues about which the State Government was concerned could be addressed through the action on the part of the Tamil Nadu Government and officials, he said.

The dam built with a projected life of 50 years had already completed 110 years and the State Government could not run away from its responsibility about the security and safety of its people.

As such, since 1979, the Kerala Government had strongly stressed the need to adhere to the recommendations of the Central Water Commission to limit the water level at 136 ft. Accumulation of the debris on the mouth of the spillway ever since the construction activities taken up during the early 1990s had resulted in the water level rising above this crucial limit. During the monsoon, the water level had risen alarmingly and touched almost 140 ft. putting the century-old structure under great pressure.

Reacting to a question, Mr. Radhakrishnan said the very fact that the Tamil Nadu Government had taken efforts to remove the debris from the mouth of the spillway was a proof for the requests made by the State Government in this regard. He said he had written to Paneerselvam, the then Irrigation Minister of Tamil Nadu, on the subject. The whole issue was now pending before the court and as such he would not like to deliberate on the issue, the Minister said.

For a permanent settlement of the vexed issue, the two Governments would have to move to more effective discussions, Mr. Radhakrishnan said.

Against Vypar project

He said the State Government was against the river linking projects in general as the various inter-State water sharing agreements had resulted in the destruction of nearly half-a-dozen rivers which originated and flowed through the State into the sea. The stance was not different in the Vypar Link Project too, as the river has no excess water (20 TMC as claimed by the Tamil Nadu Government) to share with anyone.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

News Update

Stories in this Section