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Mullaperiyar Dam Case : Supreme Court To Start Final Hearing Tomorrow

Mehal Jain

22 March 2022 6:35 AM GMT

    • Mullaperiyar Dam Case : Supreme Court To Start Final Hearing Tomorrow

    The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned to Wednesday a batch of writ petitions raising safety concerns about the Mullaperiyar dam in Kerala, on the request of the state of Tamil Nadu.The writ petition are filed by certain petitioners from Kerala.The bench headed by Justice A. M. Khanwilkar recorded, "As requested by Mr. Naphade (Senior Advocate Shekhar Naphade for the state of Tamil Nadu),...

    The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned to Wednesday a batch of writ petitions raising safety concerns about the Mullaperiyar dam in Kerala, on the request of the state of Tamil Nadu.

    The writ petition are filed by certain petitioners from Kerala.

    The bench headed by Justice A. M. Khanwilkar recorded, "As requested by Mr. Naphade (Senior Advocate Shekhar Naphade for the state of Tamil Nadu), the matter is not to be called out today as he intends to take instructions in respect of new documents and the affidavits filed by the other party which has been served on him today."
    When a concern was raised on the side of the bar regarding the eventuality if the matter does not come to be listed on Wednesday, Justice Khanwilkar remarked, "We are ready to hear the matter today also. But if there is some difficulty on one side, we have to accommodate all parties."
    Justice Khanwilkar also told the advocates, "Now we are not issuing any notice in any matter. All broad issues are there in the first matter, we will consider them in the lead petition itself."
    In January, the Central Water Commission has told the Supreme Court that a "fresh review of the safety of the Mullaperiyar dam is due and is required to be undertaken".

    The Deputy Director of the CWC filed a status report before the Supreme Court in a batch of writ petitions seeking directions to ensure the safety of the 126-year old Mullaperiyar dam, which is a subject matter of dispute between the States of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

    The report further stated that the Supervisory Committee constitued by the Supreme Court has recorded in its meetings that the "overall condition of the dam and its appurtenant structure, based upon visual inspection, is satisfactory".

    Till date, 14 meetings of supervisory committee have been held, the last one being on February 19, 2021.

    "In the minutes of meeting of 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th meetings of supervisory committee, it has been recorded that overall condition of the dam and its appurtenant structure, based upon visual inspection, is found to be satisfactory," the status report said.

    "However, a fresh review of the safety of the Mullaperiyar Dam is now due and is required to be undertaken," it said.

    The petitions are listed for final disposal before a bench led by Justice AM Khanwilkar. It is pertinent to note that Kerala and Tamil Nadu have taken contrary stands regarding the safety of the dam. Kerala Government's has stated that the 126-year old gravity dam constructed using lime and surkhi is extremely vulnerable and its destruction can wreak widespread havoc downstream in Kerala.

    "Logical next step is construction of a new dam to ensure water to Tamil Nadu and security to people living downstream and to decommission the existing dam", Kerala's affidavit filed on October 28 had stated.

    In a subsequently filed affidavit, the Kerala Government stated that repeated rejuvenation cannot perpetuate the 126-year old dam, and disputed the rule curve adopted by Tamil Nadu to fix the appropriate water level in the reservoir during the heavy monsoon season.

    The State of Tamil Nadu has filed a reply affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing the assertions made by the State of Kerala for the decommissioning of the existing dam and for reconstructing a new dam in that place.

    Tamil Nadu has said that such repeated assertions by the Kerala Government and the writ petitioners (few individuals and organizations from Kerala) are "wholly impermissible" in view of the 2014 judgment of the Supreme Court on the safety of the dam. The Tamil Nadu Government asserts in its counter-affidavit that the dam has been found to be "hydrologically, structurally and seismically safe".

    "The repeated assertion of Kerala and Petitioners from Kerala in Writ Petitions filed from time to time inter-alia seek decommissioning of the existing dam and construction of a new dam, which is wholly impermissible in the light of judgment of this Hon'ble Court on the safety of the dam. The dam has been found to be hydrologically, structurally and seismically safe", the affidavit of Tamil Nadu read.

    Case Title: Dr. Joe Joseph v. state Of Tamil Nadu

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    Supreme CourtMullaperiyar Dam Issue#Mullaperiyar damKerala StateTamil Nadu
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