A view of the Mullaperiyar dam.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Tamil Nadu has accused Kerala within the Supreme Court of “crying foul” about the safety of the over 125-year-old Mullaperiyar dam while on the identical time “wilfully obstructing” work important to keep up the construction.
“The State of Kerala on one hand raises the issue of comprehensive dam safety review, but on the other hand is obstructing in granting permissions and approvals for conveying materials and machinery to enable Tamil Nadu from completing the remaining strengthening works,” Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department mentioned in an utility.
It contended that Kerala has managed to delay even routine annual upkeep works, together with portray, patch works, restore to workers quarters, and so forth., for 2 months to greater than a 12 months.
The State mentioned the reconstituted supervisory committee, regardless of being endowed with powers underneath the Dam Safety Act, 2021 had miserably failed to make sure that Kerala and its instrumentalities allow and facilitate strengthening and different associated works on the dam.
Tamil Nadu has sought the court docket to direct Kerala to permit Tamil Nadu to conduct the remaining strengthening works on the newborn and earth dams; the grouting of the principle dam; and permission to chop 15 bushes to facilitate the strengthening of the newborn dam.
Tamil Nadu mentioned the permission to chop the bushes was granted by Kerala in November 2021, however was withdrawn days later.
“Kerala has stated that the balance strengthening works, viz., strengthening the baby dam and earthern dam require forest and wildlife clearances, which is denied. Thus, Kerala has invented a new device to obstruct in carrying out the above strengthening works,” the applying mentioned.
In 2021, the Kerala authorities had made a robust pitch within the Supreme Court to decommission the 126-year-old “deteriorated” Mullaperiyar dam operated by Tamil Nadu, and construct a brand new one, saying phenomena like local weather change, erratic and heavy rainfall and floods had made the spectre of disaster actual and close to.
Kerala’s affidavit had coincided with a purple alert issued in Chennai following torrential rains that 12 months. The Chennai rains had come on the heels of a number of days of downpour in Kerala.
The State had additionally referred to the Uttarakhand flood, often known as the Chamoli catastrophe of February 2021, primarily attributed to local weather change within the environs of the Nanda Devi National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The suggestion for a brand new dam dates again to 1979. Kerala had referred to the decommissioning of one other nineteenth century lime concrete construction, the Victoria dam in Australia, following the detection of seepages in its construction.