SC to consider Mullaperiyar review petition on 2nd December

The review petition is against the verdict of the constitutional bench of the apex court which said that the water level in the dam can be raised to 142 feet

The Supreme Court will consider a review petition of Kerala government in the Mullaperiyar dam issue on the December 2.

The review petition was against the verdict of the constitutional bench of the apex court earlier this year that the water level in the dam could be raised to 142 feet. The dam’s water level has peaked on November 21, after a gap of around 35 years.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court-appointed Mullaperiyar dam monitoring committee on Monday said the dam was strong enough to hold water level up to 142 feet, a contentious level over which Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been at loggerheads even as the latter expressed concern over the dam’s safety.

“The dam is in good condition by all parameters and strong enough to hold 142 feet of water. The baby dam (auxiliary dam near Mullaperiyar) was also quite strong,” committee chairman LAV Nathan told reporters after visiting the dam site and holding discussions with the officials.

He said the Tamil Nadu government had been advised to make arrangements to strengthen the dam further to hold 152 feet, the original maximum level of the reservoir. The committee also decided to ban entry of media reporters at the site of the dam, besides deciding to test the seepage water from the dam.  

Meanwhile, officials of Tamil Nadu public works department at the dam site said a complaint was filed against Peerumade MLA ES Bijimol for visiting the area without permission of dam officials and reportedly intimidating them.

They had also stressed the need to deploy the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at the dam for better security.

Kerala has been insisting that the level be maintained at 136 feet, while Tamil Nadu wants to raise it to 142 feet.

The Supreme Court had earlier rejected Kerala’s demand for a new dam in place of the old one and upheld Tamil Nadu’s stand to raise the water level up to 142 feet.