CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has reiterated its stand against the Kerala Government’s decision to construct a new dam across the Mullaperiyar in the place of the existing one.
In an interview on Wednesday, Durai Murugan, Tamil Nadu Public Works Minister, referred to Chief Minister Karunanidhi’s statement made in Madurai a few weeks ago that the State would not allow the new dam to be built.
On the Kerala Government’s expert committee report on the safety of the Mullaperiyar dam (which was submitted to the Kerala Government on Tuesday), he rebutted the criticism of Tamil Nadu’s “non-cooperative attitude.” On November 8, when M.K. Parameswaran Nair, committee chairman, visited the dam site without “any prior information” and wanted to inspect the gallery, Tamil Nadu PWD officials allowed him to carry out the inspection as “we wanted to respect his position,” the Minister said.
“It is not us but Kerala which has been consistently non-cooperative in finding a solution for the problem,” Mr. Durai Murugan said.
On the issue of strengthening the baby dam, the Minister said that in 1979, the then Chairman of the Central Water Commission K.C. Thomas recommended three-pronged measures for strengthening the main and baby dams.
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