Mullaperiyar dam: Kerala govt revokes order on tree felling

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after chief minister MK Stalin thanked his counterpart in Kerala, the state government on Sunday revoked an order permitting Tamil Nadu to cut 15 trees to strengthen the Baby dam in Mullaperiyar, forest minister AK Saseendran said.

The Kerala minister said the permission was granted by mistake and action will be taken against the officials concerned.

“I have no idea who gave the order. It was not come up for discussion. Officials who were behind such a move will have to be answerable,” said the minister.

Water resources minister Roshy Augustine, hailing from Idukki, where the dam is situated, also said he was unaware of the permission granted to Tamil Nadu. A junior partner in the ruling Left Democratic Front, the Communist Party of India, also expressed serious reservations over this.

The issue came to light after Stalin sent a letter to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday thanking him for permission to cut trees near the baby dam in Mullaperiyar reservoir.

The letter stirred controversy in the state and opposition Congress, and BJP alleged that the CM’s office permitted officials to bypass concerned ministries. They further said the decision would weaken the state’s long-pending demand for a new dam.

“The CM should clarify his position on TN’s decision to raise the water level to 152 feet. He said in the assembly recently that TN has shown a favourable approach to Kerala’s growing concern. But this is not a favourable move,” said former water resources minister N K Premachandran. The opposition said officials cannot decide without considering the concerned ministries, and the government is now searching for scapegoats.

Vijayan is yet to react to the issue.

CM Stalin’s letter came after Tamil Nadu minister Dorai Murugan said that the state would raise the water level to 152 feet after strengthening the Baby dam triggered a big protest in downstream areas of the dam. There are reports that chief wildlife warden Bennichan Thomas prepared the order after a meeting of concerned secretaries. But once the order snowballed into a big controversy, officials disowned the controversial decision and blamed the political leadership.

The two states have been fighting over the water level at the 126 -year-old Mullaperiyar dam for more than two decades. While Kerala wants the water level to be reduced to 138 feet and build a new dam, Tamil Nadu favours water level be raised to 152 feet, saying the dam was strong enough to withstand any pressure.

A MINISTER SAID THE PERMISSION WAS GRANTED TO TAMIL NADU BY MISTAKE AND ACTION WILL BE TAKEN AGAINST THE OFFICIALS