Mullaperiyar dam: SC ruling kicks up row

All-party meet to hold special Assembly session

An all-party meeting has decided to convene a special session of the state Assembly on March 13-14 to discuss the issue of safety of Mullaperiyar dam in the light of the recent verdict of the Supreme Court.

The meeting held here today decided to pass a new bill in order to amend the Dam Safety Act and to safeguard the dam and the interests of Kerala even as the apex court, in its ruling, allowed Tamil Nadu to increase water level from the present 136 feet to 142 feet. To the chagrin of Kerala, the court even allowed the Tamil Nadu government to raise water level to 152 feet if experts approved of it.

Protests are mounting in Kerala against the ruling as people fear that the 116-year-old Mullaperiyar dam is not strong enough to withstand natural calamities like earthquake. The dam would be further weakened if water level was raised above 136 feet.

Any damage to the dam, built by the British, would trigger a catastrophe by posing serious threat to Idukki dam, the largest arch dam in India and connecting two smaller dams "" Cheruthoni and Kulamavu.

According to experts, in the event of any breach, three central districts of Kerala"" Idukki, Ernakulam and Kottayam-""and Periyar Tiger Sanctuary would be washed out though some parts of Tamil Nadu too would suffer.

The Supreme Court upheld the contention of Tamil Nadu based on the recommendations of an expert committee.

At the same time, Opposition parties in Kerala are squarely blaming the government for not properly representing the facts before the apex court and protecting the interests of the people. Tamil Nadu seeks to raise the water level with a view to bringing thousands of acres of land in the border districts under irrigation. The two states have a water sharing agreement which was redrafted in 1974. Although Periyar river is in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, citing the terms of the agreement, has sought to raise the water level.

The issue threatens to become a focal point for Opposition campaign in the coming Assembly elections.

The dam is situated in an earthquake prone area as per the studies of various scientific agencies like Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS). Even several earthquakes below 5 on the Richter Scale have occurred around the dam site in the last 10 years.

Further raising fears, scientists unanimously agree that the dam cannot withstand an earthquake above 6 on the Richter Scale.