Mullaperiyar Dam | Photo: Mathrubhumi
New Delhi: The Supreme Court here on Friday has granted powers to the Mullaperiyar dam supervisory committee regarding the safety issues. The supervisory committee can conduct a new inspection to examine the safety of the dam. The apex court also said that the supervisory committee could also consider complaints of natives over the dam.
As per the Supreme Court order, the Supervisory Committee are entitled to exercise the powers granted to the National Dam Safety Authority by Parliament under Dam Safety Act. The supervisory committee will be responsible for the maintenance of the dam. The court also directed the committee to prepare a list of subjects based on the National Dam Safety Act 2021 for the safety inspection of the dam.
The two states should provide all help to the committee. The Chief Secretaries of both the States should ensure that the decisions are properly implemented. Otherwise, action would be taken against them.
The Mullaperiyar Supervisory Committee is chaired by Gulshan Raj, Chief Engineer, Dam Safety Organisation. Officials in the rank of Additional Chief Secretaries represent Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the committee. In addition to these, the states can nominate technicians as members of the supervisory committee.
The apex court issued the order as per the complaints received on the rule curve, gate operation schedule and instrumentation of the Mullaperiyar Dam. The petitions were filed by Periyar Protection Movement, Save Kerala Brigade and an individual named Ajay Bose.