Here is a letter from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on the Mullaiperiyar dam issue. The letter is reproduced below:
"I have received your fax dated 1.12.2011. While I concur with your view that both our States have wide ranging mutuality of interests and co-operation on several fronts and these should be fostered notwithstanding legal disputes and technical issues pending in the Supreme Court of India, I would like to take this opportunity to bring to your notice unwarranted provocations from across the border and also our anxieties on the fear psychosis generated in Kerala.
May I draw your attention to the fact that the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, after considering the report of the Expert Committee of the Government of India, ordered raising of the level of storage in the Mullai Periyar Dam to 142 feet? The Government of Kerala in order to nullify the Supreme Court order has amended the Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation Act, 2003, in 2006, fixing the FRL level, the constitutional validity of which is before the Supreme Court of India. The Empowered Committee appointed under the Chairmanship of the former Chief Justice of India Thiru A.S.Anand, is looking into the safety of the dam.
The Government of Tamil Nadu had carried out a series of measures from 1980 to 1994 on the recommendations of the Chairman, Central Water Commission, to strengthen the dam and after all these measures have been carried out, the retrofitted Mullai Periyar Dam is as good as new. The Supreme Court of India had also factored this in while pronouncing its judgment in 2006, allowing Tamil Nadu initially to store water up to 142 feet.
Under the aegis of the Empowered Committee appointed by the Supreme Court, a series of studies/tests such as scanning the upstream face of the dam, testing the cable anchors, non-destructive tests have been conducted and some are in progress. Recently my Government has sanctioned Rs.1.38 crores for the core sample test alone.
Further, in your letter, you have indicated that there have been twenty two tremors in the last four months. As per the Indian Meteorological Department data, there have been only four mild tremors in the last four months, that too far away from the vicinity of the Mullai Periyar Dam site, which did not have any effect on the seepage in the dam. The seepage of the dam is well within the permissible limits as per the Indian Standards code. The possibility of tremors of even medium magnitude does not exist in the Mullai Periyar Dam site. The possibility of the Mullai Periyar Dam breaching due to flood waters and collapsing is not logical since all eventualities have been factored in during the strengthening of the dam.
While my Government and I would always seek to protect the safety and security of every Indian, we should also guard against unfounded fears overtaking reason and ground realities. Informed decision making at the Government level should be based on reason rather than on extraneous factors.
May I take this opportunity to request you to kindly ensure that the Government of Kerala abides by the order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, which has taken into consideration all the safety aspects of the dam and allow the water level to be raised to 142 feet?
Please rest assured of my co-operation and goodwill."