New panel under NDSA chief to monitor Mullaiperiyar dam’s safety
Sources claim that the new panel will facilitate the effective upkeep of the reservoirs and make the TN government’s job much easier, especially in the backdrop of Kerala’s recent obstructions to maintenance works
Discharge from Mullaiperiyar dam (file)
CHENNAI: A seven-member Supervisory Committee has been constituted to assess the safety of the 130-year-old Mullaiperiyar dam, which has long been a bone of contention between TN and Kerala.
Sources claim that the new panel will facilitate the effective upkeep of the reservoirs and make the TN government’s job much easier, especially in the backdrop of Kerala’s recent obstructions to maintenance works.
Till now, the Chairman of the Central Water Commission headed the five-member Mullaiperiyar Monitoring Committee, which was constituted following the directions from the apex court and was responsible for overseeing the safety of the British-era structure. It ceased to exist three months ago, and the TN government subsequently proposed the formation of a new panel and submitted a proposal with a list of experts’ names to the Union government. “They have given their approval for the proposal,” a reliable source privy to the development said.
Apart from the Chairman of the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), who will lead the committee, two experts, including an academic from the Centre of Excellence at the IISC Bangalore, have been roped in.
Additional Chief Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department (WRD) and the Chairman of the Cauvery Technical Cell of the State WRD, along with their counterparts in the Kerala government’s Irrigation Department, who were part of the previous committee, will continue in the newly formed one.
The new committee under the NDSA Chairman follows the Union Government’s commitment to the Supreme Court. Under the mandate of the National Dam Safety Act of 2021, the NDSA Chairman-headed panel will have higher authority compared to the previous panel in overseeing the maintenance and repair of the Mullaiperiyar dam. Over the years, the TN government has encountered difficulties carrying out routine repair and maintenance work on the structure.
“The Chairman of the NDSA is tasked with ensuring the safety of reservoirs across the nation, and the new panel, under his leadership, will have greater authority than the previous one,” said an official from the TN government.
Kerala Forest Department had recently denied permission to transport materials required for maintenance work. The stand-off was resolved only after an intervention by senior authorities ahead of Chief Minister MK Stalin’s visit to Vaikkom for the inauguration of the Periyar Memorial.