Kerala, TN trade barbs on opening of dam floodgates
NEW DELHI/CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government hit back at Kerala on Friday over who was to blame for the devastating floods that left around 220 people dead and caused losses worth thousands of crores of rupees earlier this month, reopening a decadesold fight in the SC and outside.
Lawyers for Kerala had a day earlier told the top court in an affidavit that Tamil Nadu’s failure to control release of water from the Mullaperiyar dam till the reservoir reached its full capacity was one of the reasons for the flash floods.
On Friday, Tamil Nadu’s counsel responded by calling the claim “clever” in the top court, while its chief minister E Palaniswami said the allegations in the affidavit was “deliberately false”.
The Mullaperiyar dam falls in Kerala but is controlled by Tamil Nadu, which uses the reservoir’s water for irrigation and power generation. The two states have fought over how much water can be stored in it, with Kerala claiming the dam was weak and posed a threat to its cities downstream.
“In this affidavit (by Kerala), I see a clever device to get out of the judgment of this court,” senior advocate Shekhar Naphade said in the Supreme Court, referring to a 2014 ruling that allowed Tamil Nadu to raise the water level to 142 feet. Chief Justice Dipak Misra, who was on the bench along with justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, made it clear that the court would only go into the disaster management aspect . The bench said water level in the Mullaperiyar dam must be maintained three feet below the permissible limit till August 31, as suggested by a sub-committee formed by the Union government.
“We are only concerned with the safety and lives of people,” the chief justice said and posted the matter for hearing on September 6. In Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu chief minister Palaniswami rebutted Kerala’s allegations. He said water from Mullaperiyar was released much after flooding began and multiple warnings had been issued.
“Around 80 dams and water bodies in Kerala discharged surplus water due to downpour and this flooded the state, whereas the release of water from Mullaiperiyar pertains only to a minor portion of Kerala,” he told reporters after inspecting the Trichy Mukkombu sluice gates, nine of which had collapsed on Wednesday.
According to experts, dam management in India must factor in rain forecasts so that they can be used to check flooding. Himanshu Thakkar of South Asia Network of Dams, Rivers and People said most dams are at capacity before rains because they also used for electricity generation, and companies are unwilling to reduce water level beyond a limit since it can impact power generation.
The spat between the two states over Mullaperiyar has been in the top court since 2000, almost three decades after concerns first emerged about dam’s structure, which was built in the 1800s.
In 2007, an experts’ panel had submitted a report to the Kerala government saying there were chances of the dam breaking if the water level was raised beyond 136 feet. A 2009 report by IIT Roorkee had also stated that the dam “was likely to face damage if an earthquake of the magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale struck its vicinity when the water level is at 136 feet”.
In 2012, a five-member Supreme Court-empowered committee headed by former chief justice AS Anand had submitted its report to the top court, focusing on all aspects of the 123-yearold dam and its safety.
The Central Water Commission has said that water in Mullaperiyar can be raised to 142 feet, and eventually to 152 feet once strengthening work is completed.
Tamil Nadu has accused Kerala of impeding strengthening work.
A 2009 REPORT BY IIT ROORKEE HAD ALSO STATED THAT THE DAM “WAS LIKELY TO FACE DAMAGE IF AN EARTHQUAKE OF THE MAGNITUDE OF 6.5 ON THE RICHTER SCALE STRUCK ITS VICINITY