New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned the matter regarding a dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments over the Mullaperiyar dam to December 15.
The bench comprising of Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice CT Ravikumar had to adjourn the hearing due to hearing of other special bench matter.
Kerala government has filed an additional application in the top court seeking directions to the state of Tamil Nadu to provide information about the opening of the spillway shutters of the dam before 24 hours at least and release water steadily as it is causing damage to the property. It has sought the constitution of a committee comprising two members each from both the states who can decide on the quantity of water to be released and at what time.
Currently, Tamil Nadu is releasing water at night which is also causing problems to the residents. Kerala's Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had written a letter to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to avoid releasing water at night. An affidavit on Kerala's application has to be filed in the court on December 15 so that it can be heard.
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Mullaperiyar dam is located in Kerala's Idukki district near Thekkady on Periyar River but is maintained and managed by the Tamil Nadu government. The Tamil Nadu government had submitted before the top court that the Kerala floods in the years 2018 and 2019 were not caused by the water that flowed from the Mullaperiyar dam.
The Tamil Nadu government's submission had come on an affidavit filed by the Kerala government blaming Tamil Nadu for ignoring its request to control water flow from Mullaperiyar dam during the floods.
Earlier, Kerala had also alleged that the sudden release of the water from the dam is one of the reasons for flooding in Kerala.