Mullaperiyar Dam: Supervisory panel can carry out functions, says Supreme Court

The apex court made the suggestion after the Centre said the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) under the Act will become fully functional in one year while a temporary structure can be made functional within a month.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court, on Tuesday said the supervisory committee on the 126-year-old Mullaperiyar Dam can be asked to carry out all the statutory functions until a regular authority under the Dam Safety Act 2021 is established. The Supreme Court asked the Centre, Tamil Nadu and Kerela to consider its proposal of giving the functions of the Dam to the Supervisory committee constituted till the top court's further orders. The court asked the parties to consider it before the next hearing, which is on April 7.

The apex court made the suggestion after the Centre said the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) under the Act will become fully functional in one year while a temporary structure can be made functional within a month. The bench comprising Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice, Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice CT Ravikumar is hearing pleas raising issues about the Mullaperiyar Dam, which was built in 1895 on the Periyar river in the Idukki district of Kerala. Tamil Nadu feels that the dam is completely safe and wants the water level to be higher. However, Kerela considers the dam to be unsafe and wants it to be abolished.

"Since you are suggesting that the supervisory committee can continue, we will say, in addition to the task assigned under the orders of this court, the supervisory committee hereafter shall carry out all the statutory functions under this Act until a regular committee is established," said the bench. The bench said all the activities covered under this Act would be taken care of by the committee. However, the court also said that it is not a regular arrangement.

The apex court said it would issue direction to the Centre that all infrastructural facilities may be extended to the supervisory committee so that it can effectively carry out the functions and duties under the Act. In an earlier hearing, the court had asked both the states to resolve the matter amicably. When ASG Aishwarya Bhati said the court may consider that both the chief secretaries can nominate one expert each in the committee, the bench said, "We will strengthen the supervisory committee. We will give liberty to the supervisory committee to come back immediately if there is any issue that requires the immediate attention of the court."

"Minutes can be prepared on this line if you accept this arrangement, including strengthening the existing supervisory committee by adding one expert member each from both the states," the Justices added. On March 31, the court had asked the Centre to file a note detailing the time frame and also when the NDSA, envisaged under the 2021 Act, would be functional. The bench was told that the Act has come into force and its provisions may be a way for resolution of the impasse in the Mullaperiyar Dam matter.

Bhati, appearing for the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the supervisory committee, had told the bench about the Act and said the legislation has come into force. During the hearing earlier, the top court had observed that the issue raised by Kerala, which has said that process for setting up a new dam in the downstream reaches of the existing dam should start, can be debated, discussed, and resolved by the supervisory committee which can make its recommendation on this.

The counsel appearing for Kerala had earlier told the apex court that the process for setting up a new dam in the downstream reaches of the existing dam should start and the upper rule level of Mullaperiyar Dam should be 140 feet and not 142 feet. The Kerala government had earlier said that "no amount of rejuvenation" can perpetuate the dam and there is a limit to the number of years one can keep dams in service through maintenance and strengthening measures.

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