SC seeks responses from Centre, Tamil Nadu and Kerala on structural safety of Mullaperiyar dam

The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Union government, Tamil Nadu and Kerala on a petition seeking the decommissioning of the 130-year-old Mullaperiyar dam and the construction of a new structure to replace it, reported Bar and Bench.

The petition was filed by the non-governmental organisation Save Kerala Brigade. The organisation has highlighted concerns about the dam’s structural safety due to climate change, excessive floods and its placement in a high-intensity seismic zone, according to Live Law.

The dam, built in 1895, is situated in the Idukki district on the Periyar River in Kerala. However, it is managed by the Tamil Nadu government under a pre-Independence lease agreement signed between the princely State of Travancore and the British-era Madras Presidency.

During the hearing on Monday, advocate V Giri, appearing for the petitioner, told a bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran that the dam had “long ago exceeded its design life” and posed a threat to the lives and property of nearly one crore persons living downstream.

The petitioner sought three main reliefs – a court-supervised expert inspection of the dam, an interim reduction of the water level as a safety measure and directions for the preparation of a detailed safety reassessment, Live Law reported.

The chief justice remarked that the...

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