Kerala to approach SC over Mullaperiyar dam

The Kerala cabinet Saturday decided to file a case in the Supreme Court later in the day for lowering the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam.

"The cabinet discussed the rising water level at the Mullaperiyar dam. It has reached 140.8 feet. We will file a case today (Saturday) in the Supreme Court to see that it is reduced to 136 feet," Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said in a statement here.

At the cabinet meeting Thursday, it was decided that tough steps will be taken if the level touches 140 feet.

Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been at loggerheads over the dam, built under an 1886 accord between the then Maharaja of Travancore and the erstwhile British Raj.

The water level has breached the 140 feet-mark on two earlier occasions. In 1992 it touched 143.8 feet and in 1995 it was 141.60 feet.

On Friday, Chandy wrote to his counterpart in Tamil Nadu highlighting the dangerous levels to which the water level has risen due to the heavy rainfall in the past few days.

In his letter, Chandy asked O. Panneerselvam to ensure that his state draws more water from the dam.

In May this year, the apex court had struck down a Kerala assembly act restricting the water level at 136 feet. It also gave the safety standards at the dam a clean chit.