The Supreme Court on March 24 said it is keen to end, once and for all, the “perennial” court battles between neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Kerala over the 126-year-old Mullaperiyar dam, a lime-and-mortar structure which is a source of water for one State and said to be a reservoir of danger during monsoon for another.
The court has made it clear that it wants to strengthen and widen the ambit and responsibilities of its supervisory committee, making it primarily in charge of the maintenance and structural safety of the dam.
A Bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar suggested including two technical experts in the committee. The panel could itself do the instrumentation work in the dam. It would be entirely responsible for structural safety of the dam. The committee would direct Tamil Nadu and Kerala to do the necessary safety work within a reasonable time. The Chief Secretary would be held accountable and liable for contempt action in case of any delay by either Kerala or Tamil Nadu to comply with the committee’s directions.
