New Delhi:
The five-member Empowered Committee - appointed by the Supreme Court - over the raging controversy on the Mullaperiyar Dam today rejected Kerala's demand to reduce the water level to 120 feet in the disputed structure. The committee said since the Supreme Court had ordered water level to be at 136 feet, it can't reduce the level to 120 feet.
"The committee rejected Kerala's demand to reduce the water level because the Supreme Court had ordered status quo of 136 feet," said Justice KT Thomas, one of the members of Empowered Committee.
The committee will meet again on January 24 and 25 to finalise its report and it will be submitted to the Supreme Court in February.
The Committee today discussed the various reports on the safety of the dam including the one submitted yesterday by the two-member panel constituted by it. The panel comprising C D Thatte and D K Mehta had visited the dam site in December after Kerala yet again expressed fears in the wake of recent tremors in the area.
The two-member team which inspected the Mullaperiyar Dam has reportedly said in its report that the dam is safe and the recent tremors have had no impact on the Mullaperiyar and Idukki dams.
Kerala yesterday claimed that the report by the two-member expert panel was biased and opposed its consideration by the five-member committee.
Kerala contended that a new dam should be built as the existing structure was vulnerable to earthquakes and consequently posed a major threat to the lives of people staying in the area. It also pressed its demand to reduce the water level in the dam to 120 feet from the existing 136 feet to ensure that safety was not compromised.
Kerala, however, complained to the Empowered Committee headed by former Chief Justice of India Justice A S Anand that the expert panel was unfair and had openly supported Tamil Nadu during its inspection of the dam site. It claimed that the panel was acting against Kerala's interests.
Kerala government officials had stayed away from the December 23 visit alleging that the experts did not hear the state's views on the dam's safety aspects. According to official sources, the state government had received legal advice for lodging its displeasure at the way the two members had conducted their proceedings.
The dam is located in Kerala but Tamil Nadu controls it under a decades-old agreement and uses its waters to irrigate five of its southern districts. Tamil Nadu fears that Kerala's demand for a new structure is a ploy to wrest control over the dam. The state maintains that the structure is safe with reinforcements being carried out periodically and has accused its neighbour of fear-mongering.
MDMK leader Vaiko, who led protests against Kerala last month, yesterday reiterated that Tamil Nadu had legal rights over the dam and accused Kerala of disregarding directions to raise the water level. Agriculture would suffer if the water level was decreased, as Kerala has been suggesting, he pointed out.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy had earlier approached Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene and settle the dispute.