New Delhi:
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Kerala government to permit Tamil Nadu to undertake the basic maintenance and cleaning work at the Mullaperiyar dam.
The five-judge bench headed by Justice DK Jain said that the maintenance and the cleaning work at the dam would be undertaken under the supervision of a three-member committee.
The three-member committee will comprise of a superintending engineer each from Tamil Nadu and Kerala and an independent representative nominated by the chairman of Central Works Commission.
The court's order came in pursuance of an application by Tamil Nadu government, seeking directions to Kerala to permit maintenance and cleaning of the dam by it.
The court has permitted 40 reports commissioned by an empowered committee be given to both Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The empowered committee headed by the former chief justice of India, Justice AS Anand, was set up to examine the safety of the century-old Mullaperiyar dam amidst reports that it is vulnerable to earthquakes. The panel, in it report, said that the dam is seismologically safe. However, it recommended the Kerala government's proposal to build a new dam as an alternative.
The report was welcomed in Tamil Nadu, while Kerala remained adamant on its demand. Kerala says the dam is unsafe and declined to raise the water level as directed by the Supreme Court.