The dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu for the Mullaperiyar Dam took a new turn on Monday with the former coming out with a feasibility report for building a new dam in place of the existing one.
The four-decade old dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu for the Mullaperiyar Dam took a new turn on Monday with the former coming out with a feasibility report for building a new dam in place of the existing one.
The present dam, built in 1895 is owned and operated by Tamil Nadu. The dam was built in land leased to Tamil Nadu by the then Maharajah of Travancore for 999 years.
“We have submitted to the Empowered Committee appointed by the Supreme Court a detailed feasibility report for a new dam. This was prepared by the experts of Geological Survey of India, Lal Bahadur Sastri Centre for Science and Technology and the College of Engineering Trivandrum,” James Wilson, member, Mullaperiyar Special Cell, told DNA.
The empowered committee is headed by JS Anand, former supreme court chief justice, and has as members KT Thomas and AR Lakshmanan former judges of the apex court.
James said the new dam costing Rs 600 crore would be built by Kerala at a site 366 meter of downstream of the existing dam.
“The report says topographically and geologically a new dam is feasible. The site selected for the new dam will not cause environmental disturbance of any kind. There will be only a minimum submergence of forest land,” he said.
The 115-year-old dam, with a storage capacity of 15 tmcft, situated in Devikolam Taluq of Kerala’s Idukki district, has been a bone of contention between Kerala and Tamil Nadu because of ‘safety aspects’.
Kerala’s argument is that the dam may burst any time ravaging Idukki, Ernakulam and Kottayam districts in the state.
But Tamil Nadu points out that even if the dam bursts, the entire water will flow to the Idukki reservoir downstream which has a storage capacity of 72 tmcft.
“A team of experts from Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee has found out that the Mullaperiyar Dam would not stand any earthquakes measuring 6.5 and above in the Richter Scale. The IIT team found that the dam is not hydrologically safe. The only option before us is to build a new dam incorporating the technology to resist earthquakes. The Tehri Dam in Maharashtra has been built like this,” said James.
Though Kerala has been expressing its fear over the safety of the Mullaperiyar Dam since 1979, no untoward incident has happened till date necessitating the construction of a new dam in the ecologically fragile forest area which houses hundreds of hectares of rain forests and the Project Tiger Reserve.
“The present dam has outlived its utility since it was built in 1895. The old dam was constructed without taking into account seismic activities in the area. The dam has also not incorporated modern technologies which are a must to ensure longevity and safety,” said James.
The main beneficiaries of the dam are the five drought-prone districts of Tamil Nadu.
The drinking water and irrigation needs of Theni, Madurai, Dindigul, Sivagangai, and Ramanathapuram districts are met through Mullaperiyar Dam.
The storage level of the dam was lowered from its capacity of 152 ft to 136 ft in 1979 to reinforce the strength of the dam.
Though all works related to strengthening the dam has been completed to the satisfaction of the Central Water Commission, the Kerala government has not allowed Tamil Nadu to restore the water level to 152 ft.
The Supreme Court in response to the plea by Dr Subramanian Swamy, president, Janata Party, had directed the Tamil Nadu government in 2006 to restore the water level to 152 ft.
The Tamil Nadu government failed to implement the court order which was in its favour.
Meanwhile the Kerala government dragged the matter further by creating legal hurdles like passing legislations like the Dam Safety Act which has been negated by the apex court.
Tamil Nadu’s contention is that when the Mullaperiyar dam issue came up for review in 1972, the Kerala government, instead of asking for the abrogation of the agreement, demanded a six-fold hike in the lease rental which was readily accepted by the then Tamil Nadu government.
A battle of wits is on now between Tamil Nadu and Kerala over the safety of the dam.
While the committee of experts appointed by the Kerala government has concluded that the old dam is unsafe and needs immediate replacement, the team of experts constituted by the Tamil nadu government is of the view that nothing is wrong with the existing dam.
Interestingly, the Mullaperiyar Dam issue have brought arch rivals DMK and the AIADMK on the same side. All major and minor political parties in Tamil Nadu are unanimous in their demand that Kerala should restore the water level to 152 ft and there is no need for a new dam.
MS Menon, member secretary, Indian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage said nationalization and inter linking of rivers were the only options available for the Union government to resolve the Cauvery and Mullaperiyar issues before they emerge as Frankenstein’s Monsters because of local politics.
“Kerala’s demand for a new dam is justified because no one can guarantee that the Mullaperiyar Dam would last for more than 1000 years,” he said. If the demand of Kerala for a new dam is accepted by the powers that be India will also see for the first time the decommissioning of a dam.
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