Mullaperiyar Dam matter Tamil Nadu says dialogue on SC to hear matter on Mar 31
New Delhi Mar 29 PTI The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would hear the Mullaperiyar Dam matter on March 31 after the Tamil Nadu government informed it that they have had some dialogue on the issue which is going onWe understand the complexities of it We can give time a bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar said after senior advocate Shekhar Naphade appearing for Tamil Nadu requested that the matter be heard on ThursdayThe apex court is hearing arguments on the pleas raising issues pertaining to the Mullaperiyar Dam which was built in 1895 on the Periyar river in Idukki district of KeralaAt the outset Tamil Nadus counsel told the bench also comprising Justices A S Oka and C T Ravikumar that the matter be taken up for hearing on ThursdayWe have had some dialogue and it is on he saidSenior advocate Jaideep Gupta appearing for Kerala said that Tamil Nadu has given them something and they are working on itThey have given us something We are working on it We will give it to them It will take just a little longer than we thought Gupta saidNo issues the bench said and posted the matter for hearing on March 31On March 24 the top court had suggested to Tamil Nadu and Kerala that issues regarding structural safety of the 126-year-old Mullaperiyar Dam can be left to be dealt with by the supervisory committee which can be strengthenedThe apex court had observed that 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 thisThe bench had observed that a holistic approach should be adopted and a comprehensive measure should be there to strengthen the systemThe counsel appearing for Tamil Nadu had told the bench that he would take instructions on this issue as these are sensitive matters He had said the state of Tamil Nadu is interested in retaining the damThe bench had said the issue is affecting both the states and they can work out a mechanism so that interest of both the sides is secured and nobody blames each otherThe counsel appearing for Kerala had last week told the bench 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 feetThe Kerala government had earlier told the apex court 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 measuresIn its response to the affidavit filed by Kerala the state of Tamil Nadu had earlier said that repeated assertion of Kerala and petitioners from there in the pleas filed from time to time seek to decommission of the existing dam and construction of a new dam which is wholly impermissible in the light of the apex court verdict on the safety of the damThe dam has been found to be hydrologically structurally and seismically safe Tamil Nadu had said PTI ABA ABA DV DV
New Delhi Mar 29 PTI The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would hear the Mullaperiyar Dam matter on March 31 after the Tamil Nadu government informed it that they have had some dialogue on the issue which is going onWe understand the complexities of it We can give time a bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar said after senior advocate Shekhar Naphade appearing for Tamil Nadu requested that the matter be heard on ThursdayThe apex court is hearing arguments on the pleas raising issues pertaining to the Mullaperiyar Dam which was built in 1895 on the Periyar river in Idukki district of KeralaAt the outset Tamil Nadus counsel told the bench also comprising Justices A S Oka and C T Ravikumar that the matter be taken up for hearing on ThursdayWe have had some dialogue and it is on he saidSenior advocate Jaideep Gupta appearing for Kerala said that Tamil Nadu has given them something and they are working on itThey have given us something We are working on it We will give it to them It will take just a little longer than we thought Gupta saidNo issues the bench said and posted the matter for hearing on March 31On March 24 the top court had suggested to Tamil Nadu and Kerala that issues regarding structural safety of the 126-year-old Mullaperiyar Dam can be left to be dealt with by the supervisory committee which can be strengthenedThe apex court had observed that 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 thisThe bench had observed that a holistic approach should be adopted and a comprehensive measure should be there to strengthen the systemThe counsel appearing for Tamil Nadu had told the bench that he would take instructions on this issue as these are sensitive matters He had said the state of Tamil Nadu is interested in retaining the damThe bench had said the issue is affecting both the states and they can work out a mechanism so that interest of both the sides is secured and nobody blames each otherThe counsel appearing for Kerala had last week told the bench 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 feetThe Kerala government had earlier told the apex court 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 measuresIn its response to the affidavit filed by Kerala the state of Tamil Nadu had earlier said that repeated assertion of Kerala and petitioners from there in the pleas filed from time to time seek to decommission of the existing dam and construction of a new dam which is wholly impermissible in the light of the apex court verdict on the safety of the damThe dam has been found to be hydrologically structurally and seismically safe Tamil Nadu had said PTI ABA ABA DV DV
