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Kerala will press T.N. to rebuild Mullaperiyar dam: Chandy

Special Correspondent

Fresh agreement between the two States needed, says Chief Minister

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Tuesday said the State would press for having the 111-year-old Mullaperiyar dam in Idukki district rebuilt by Tamil Nadu to ensure the safety of the people living in the downstream areas.

He made this statement in the State Assembly after the introduction of the Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2006, which seeks to strengthen the powers of the Dam Safety Authority envisaged under the original Act in taking decisions on matters pertaining to the safety of major dams in the State.

The safety factor

Mr. Chandy also said that the State desired to enter into a new agreement on the Mullaperiyar waters, being used entirely by Tamil Nadu under an 1886 agreement renewed in 1970. He said Kerala wished to have the best of relations with Tamil Nadu and did not want to deny the neighbouring State the waters being diverted across the borders from Kerala. The new dam and the new agreement were not to deprive Tamil Nadu of Kerala waters. The issue concerned the safety of the people living downstream the dam that had outlived its normal life long ago, he added.

Earlier, introducing the Bill, Minister for Water Resources Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said the proposed legislation was not for the specific purpose of surmounting the recent Supreme Court verdict directing the State to cooperate with the Tamil Nadu Government in increasing the reservoir level at Mullaperiyar from 136 feet to 142 feet. It was to put the safety of the people of the State above all other considerations.

Key amendments to the original Act (passed in 2003) envisaged under this Bill relate to new powers proposed to be given to the Dam Safety Authority, a body of dam and legal experts. Under one provision being added, the authority could, if found necessary, direct the `custodian' of the dam to suspend the functioning of a dam, restrict its functioning and even decommission it if it posed a threat to human life or property. In the case of the Mullaperiyar dam, the `custodian' is the Tamil Nadu Government. Mr. Radhakrishnan said the Government had received legal opinion that the State Legislature was competent to enact such a law. Referring to the Supreme Court verdict on Mullaperiyar dam, he said one observation by the honourable bench that heard the case was "especially regrettable." He said that, according to the court, if the worst thing happened and the dam were to burst, 11 TMC of water in the Mullaperiyar reservoir could easily be received by the Idukki dam downstream. "We will go for a review petition. Such remarks could not be allowed to remain in the records."

During the discussion, former Water Resources Minister T. M. Jacob said that the verdict contained several such observations suggesting that the court had not given due attention to the facts mentioned in Kerala's affidavit. For instance, raising the reservoir level from 136 feet would definitely inundate vast stretches of the Periyar Tiger Reserve that had become an ideal habitat for wildlife since 1979.

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