'Mullaperiyar Dam Outlasted 2.5 Times Its Life:' Supreme Court Downplays Dam Break Apprehension, Turns Down Urgency Request

While tagging a 2020 PIL relating to the Mullperiyar dam (situated in Kerala but operated by Tamil Nadu) with a connected case pending before a 3-judge bench, Justice Hrishikesh Roy of the Supreme Court dispelled today a claim of urgency in the matter noting that the dam has withstood 130 yrs since its construction (though its life was 50 yrs).Justice Roy played down the apprehension raised by the petitioners (certain private individuals from Kerala) of a dam break if the matter remains pending for long. He pointed out that the dam has been there for over 130 years and can outlast more monsoons while awaiting a court hearing."How many monsoons have gone since the Mullaperiyar dam was [constructed]? 130 monsoons...it's another 2 monsoons only...I have lived in the state which lives in constant fear of Mullaperiyar dam breaking down...people are living under the fear that the dam is going to break anytime...130 years have gone by...the dam has outlasted 2.5 times its life...I was one of those 15 lakhs people (who are stated to be under apprehension of dam break) for 1.5 years...my brother (Justice SVN Bhatti) was there for 4.5 years."For context, both Justices Roy and SVN Bhatti have served the Kerala High Court, with the former being its Chief Justice.On a lighter note, Justice Roy also drew a parallel between the petitioners' apprehension of a dam break and the fear of the Gauls in comic Asterix that the sky would fall over their heads (which caused one of them to carry menhirs over his head).A bench of Justices Roy and Bhatti was dealing with the Dr. Joe Joseph case where, in April, 2022, it was directed that the Supervisory Committee constituted in 2014 to monitor the safety arrangements of the dam should continue its operations till the National Dam Safety Authority under the Dam Safety Act 2021 comes into effect. The same has now been tagged with the original suit filed by Tamil Nadu against Kerala involving issues related to the Mullaperiyar dam.During the hearing, as mentioned above, apprehensions regarding the dam break were expressed on behalf of private residents in Kerala. Their counsel urged that the life of the dam was 50 years and people are living in fear of an accident that would affect about 15 lakh lives. The Court was also informed that the directions issued in the present case on April 8, 2022 have not been fully complied with.BackgroundThe Mullaperiyar issue has been before the Supreme Court since a long period of time. Initially, the matter reached the Court by way of a writ petition (Mullaperiyar Environmental Protection Forum v. Union of India & Ors) which was decided by a three-judge Bench comprising of then Chief Justice YK Sabharwal, Justices CK Thakker and PK Balasubramanyan. This writ petition was dismissed, with permission for the water level of the Mullaperiyar dam to be raised to 142 ft. and further strengthening of the dam.After this judgment, which was delivered on 27.02.2006, Kerala amended the 'Kerala Irrigation and Water (Conservation) Act' and Mullaperiyar dam was designated as a Scheduled dam, treating it as endangered dam, and the water level was restricted to 136 ft. This was followed by Tamil Nadu filing an original suit before the Supreme Court against the provisions of the amended Act in its application to Mullaperiyar.In 2011, a Constitution Bench of the Court constituted an Empowered Committee, which gave a Report that as per the the tests, investigations and studies conducted by it, the Old Mullaperiyar Dam was hydrologically, seismically and structurally safe for holding water up to 142 ft.Ultimately, in 2014, the Constitution Bench held that Kerala cannot obstruct Tamil Nadu from increasing the water level of Mullaperiyar dam to 142 ft. and from carrying out repair works as per judgment dated 27.02.2006. Vide this judgment, the Court also constituted a 3-member Supervisory Committee to supervise the restoration of FRL in the Mullaperiyar dam to the elevation of 142 ft.Recently, Advocate Mathews J Nedupmara filed a petition raising the issue of structural safety of the Mullaperiyar Dam and on January 8, a 3-judge bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan called for the Union of India's response on whether a supervisory authority as per the National Dam Safety Act has been constituted.Case Title: DR. JOE JOSEPH AND ORS. Versus STATE OF TAMIL NADU AND ORS., W.P.(C) No. 880/2020 Click Here To Read/Download Order

'Mullaperiyar Dam Outlasted 2.5 Times Its Life:' Supreme Court Downplays Dam Break Apprehension, Turns Down Urgency Request

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'Mullaperiyar Dam Outlasted 2.5 Times Its Life:' Supreme Court Downplays Dam Break Apprehension, Turns Down Urgency Request

Debby Jain

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