Tamil Nadu Opposes New Safety Audit of Mullaperiyar Dam

Tamil Nadu is on its toes after the Central Water Commission (CWC) routed for a new safety audit of the Mullaperiyar Dam. Although the CWC stated that the dam is strong, it could be unfavourable for Tamil Nadu in the inter-state conflict with Kerala if the inspection detects any safety issue.

While Kerala supports the call for a fresh safety review as purported by the CWC in its report, Tamil Nadu is using the same report to support its claim that the dam is safe and there is no need for its decommissioning.

Kerala has strongly advocated decommissioning the "deteriorated" dam and building a new one. At the same time, Tamil Nadu considers the dam "well-maintained" and is making persistent efforts to raise the water storage level. It should be noted that while the latter maintains the dam, the structure is nonetheless located in Kerala.

Both the states have cited many studies to pull the discourse towards them. However, the pending safety audit results could be a game-changer in this decades-long conflict.

TN’S STRONG ‘NO’ TO AUDIT

In the latest status report submitted before the Supreme Court on January 27, CWC said that no review on the dam's safety had taken place for the last 12 years. Yet, Tamil Nadu vehemently opposed the need for it.

In the report submitted by Tamil Nadu on January 4, it argued that all the parameters - seepage, lime leaching and silting of the dam - were found to be within limits. It went a step ahead and blamed Kerala for curtailing its efforts to carry out the remaining strengthening and maintenance works in compliance with the 2014 court order.

Janakarajan, a former professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai, and an expert on water management told NewsClick, “25-26 years ago a massive strengthening project was carried out to the Mullaperiyar Dam. After which, the CWC certified the dam to be 100% safe. The Tamil Nadu government need not worry about a safety audit.”

The CWC suggestion once again opened the floodgates on the issue in Tamil Nadu.

General secretary of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Tamil Nadu Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan stood his ground that any examination could be undertaken only on completion of works to increase the height of the dam to 152 feet, which was allowed by the apex court.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Tamil Nadu Assembly and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) coordinator O Panneerselvam urged a revised status report on the safety of the Mullaperiyar dam and called upon the Tamil Nadu government to file a petition objecting to the CWC report.

IS A MUTUAL RESOLUTION POSSIBLE?

After the DMK came to power in May 2021 showed some signs of mutually resolving the age-old Mullaperiyar Dam conflict between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In October 2021, MK Stalin wrote a letter to his Kerala counterpart, Pinarayi Vijayan, assuring him of steps to safeguard the states' interests.

Within days BJP Tamil Nadu state president K Annamalai alleged that Stalin had pledged the rights over Mullaperiyar Dam to Kerala with the dream of becoming deputy Prime Minister in 2024 with the support of the CPI (M).

Despite being a national party, BJP has varying stands on the issue in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The BJP in Kerala called for the decommissioning of the dam and the construction of a new one. Whereas in Tamil Nadu, any cordial talks between the states are targeted as diluting the issue.

Similarly, AIADMK’s Panneerselvam claimed that people were now under the impression that the DMK and its allies had taken a "favourable stand" towards Kerala. He called for unitedly standing for ensuring Tamil Nadu's rights.

Soon, the friendly ties between Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the Mullaperiyar Dam fizzled out. In early December 2021, Tamil Nadu released water on two occasions without sufficient warning to Kerala. It led to flooding and consequent inundation of houses in Idukki, Kerala.

Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to MK Stalin raising the issue of the untimely release of water, and since then, there have been no steps towards a mutual resolution to the issue.

The other national parties Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Congress, have a strong stance for decommissioning the dam in Kerala but largely remain silent on the issue in Tamil Nadu.

LEGITIMATE CONCERNS REMAIN

Although political parties have used the Mullaperiyar Dam issue for a long to gain political mileage, the actual issue affecting the lives of lakhs of people remains unresolved.

In Kerala, it is the sheer fear over the safety of the 126-year-old dam. In Tamil Nadu, it is a question of quenching the thirst of millions and cultivating arable land.

The diversion of the Periyar river supplies water to the Vaigai river that irrigates five central districts in Tamil Nadu. It is vital to the agriculture and development of the areas concerned. DMK and AIADMK, the parties that have alternately formed governments in Tamil Nadu, are categorically opposed to the decommissioning of the dam.

On the other hand, the floods ravaging Kerala with regularity since 2018 have become a matter of deep concern. The dam is portrayed as a ticking time bomb that can explode at any moment, causing the deaths of thousands in the state. Kerala maintains that the only solution is razing down the existing weak structure and constructing a new dam.

The Mullaperiyar Dam has been a bone of contention between Kerala and Tamil Nadu for over four decades now. It began with the alleged concerns over leaks and cracks in the structure and took momentum after a dam over Machchu river in Gujarat collapsed, flooding Morvi town in 1979.