Mullaperiyar Dam Water Dispute

Mullaperiyar Dam Water Dispute
Introduction
Tamil Nadu-Kerala dam row (alternatively India dam row) is an ongoing row and the long
legal battle between the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala about the Mullaperiyar dam.
The Mullaperiyar Dam is on the River Mullayar and its tributary, the Periyar in the state of
Kerala on the Cardamom Hills of Western Ghats in Idukki District of Kerala.
Long history
The dam was built in the late 1800s in the princely state of Travancore (present-day Kerala) and
given to British-ruled Madras Presidency on a 999-year lease in 1886. The agreement granted
full rights to the secretary of state of Tamil Nadu, a British official, to construct irrigation
projects on the land. The dam was built to divert eastwards a part of the west-flowing Periyar
river, to feed the arid areas of Tamil Nadu.
Post-independence Developments
The agreement was renewed by the two state governments in independent India in the 1970s.
Tamil Nadu was given rights to the land and the water from the dam as well as the authority to
develop hydro-power projects at the site, and Kerala would receive rent in return.
However, safety concerns surfaced in 1979 after reports in the Kerala press claimed a minor
earthquake had caused cracks in the dam. The Central Water Commission was asked to examine
the structure and suggest ways to strengthen it. As an emergency measure, the commission
recommended that the level of water stored in the reservoir be lowered to 136 feet from about
142 feet. It held that the water level could be raised to the dam’s full capacity of 152 feet after
the structure was strengthened.
laims and counter claims

From this point on, two divergent perspectives have emerged.
Tamil Nadu claims that though it has undertaken periodic repairs on the dam, the Kerala
government has not allowed it to raise the water level. It says it has suffered huge losses from not
being able to use the dam to its full capacity.
Kerala, on the other hand, contends it is not safe to raise the water level as Idukki district, where
the dam is located, is earthquake-prone and has experienced multiple low-intensity quakes.
Scientists, too, have said the dam cannot withstand an earthquake measuring over six on the
Richter scale and that if such a calamity were to happen, the lives of more than three million
people would be imperiled.
The divergent views resulted in the two states moving their high courts and multiple petitions
being filed. In 2000, the matter reached the Supreme Court, where it has been hotly contested for
years.
In 2006, the Supreme Court allowed the Tamil Nadu government to raise the water level to 142
feet, contending that the apprehensions raised by Kerala were baseless. The Kerala government
countered this with an amendment to the 2003 Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation Act.
The amendment classified the Mullaperiyar dam as endangered and restricted the level of water
in it to 136 feet. Tamil Nadu responded by moving the Supreme Court, calling for the
amendment to be struck down as unconstitutional.
On its part, the top court tried to get the two sides to find common ground, but both stood firm.
The Kerala government commissioned a study by the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, at
the site of the dam. The study reiterated that the dam would not be able to withstand a major
earthquake. Armed with these findings, the Kerala government in 2009 proposed that a new dam
be built at the site. But Tamil Nadu was not convinced.
In another attempt to broker an agreement, the Supreme Court in 2010 set up a five-member
empowered committee to look into the various concerns raised by the states. As the two sides
were awaiting the committee’s report, a series of low-intensity earthquakes struck Idukki in
2011. Media reports in Kerala said the quakes had caused cracks to appear on the dam’s surface.
This led to protests across the state demanding that the dam be decommissioned. The protests
turned violent in many parts and worsened ties between the two states.
However, a year later, the empowered committee declared that the dam was “structurally and
hydrologically safe” and that the Tamil Nadu government could raise the water level to 142 feet
after carrying out some repairs.
The Kerala government received yet another setback in 2014 when the Supreme Court held that
the 2006 amendment to the Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation Act restricting the water
level in the dam to 136 feet was unconstitutional. It said Kerala could not obstruct Tamil Nadu
from raising the water level to 142 feet. To allay Kerala’s concerns, it directed that a three-
member committee be set up to oversee the process of raising the water level, inspect the dam
routinely and look into the safety concerns.
Three years after this verdict, the court’s latest order on 2018 shows that the Mullaperiyar dam
continues to be a problem between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, with multiple interpretations on
everything from the reality of the 1886 agreement governing its use to the project’s structural
safety.

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laims and counter claims

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