Kerala to file review petition in SC on Mullaperiyar dam row

In an all-party meet, Kerala CM Oommen Chandy and other party leaders decided to file a review petition before the apex court

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An all-party meet held here to discuss the future course of action on the Mullaperiyar Dam issue which has been a bone of contention between the two neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Kerela, mulled over a review petition to Supreme Court to solve the issue.

In the meeting presided over by Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Monday, leader of the opposition in the state, Velikkakathu Sankaran Achuthanandan of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M)and leaders of other parties decided to file a review petition before the apex court.

Talking to media after the meeting, Chandy advocated water for Tamil Nadu and safety for Kerala.

"We are never against giving water to Tamil Nadu. We are always saying water for Tamil Nadu and safety for Kerala. We are only concerned about the safety of the people of five districts of Kerala. But unfortunately Supreme Court has not taken care of those aspects. So we all respect the court, we are always accepting the verdicts of the court, so we want to follow the legal remedies before us. So we have decided to give a review petition in the Supreme Court. Also we will discuss with them our legal aspects as to what are the other options before us,"said Chandy.

The meeting was held to discuss the issues arising out of the Supreme Court verdict that came on Wednesday which quashed the law passed by Kerala on Mullaperiyar dam in 2006.

A bench headed by Chief Justice RM Lodha quashed the amendments to the Kerala Conservation and Irrigation Act brought in by the Kerala Government in 2006 to restrict the water level to 136 feet.

The Mullaperiyar dam site is in Kerala, but the reservoir mainly serves Tamil Nadu.

The Dam was constructed in 1886 during British rule but was washed away, after which a new structure was built in 1895. Incidentally, the Tamil Nadu government was in charge of this dam as per a 999-year lease formulated by the British.

Kerala wanted the structure to be demolished, while neighbouring Tamil Nadu had fiercely opposed the move. Kerala advocated for the construction of a new dam to banish prevailing fears of an impending disaster in the event of the dam's collapse.

However, the Tamil Nadu state government had been opposing the move of decommissioning the dam saying its walls had already been fortified and hence it did not pose any threat.