Mullaperiyar, again: Solutions must balance Kerala’s risks and Tamil Nadu’s needs

Late last month, the top court had asked the Standing Supervisory Committee to give its opinion on the Kerala government’s plea.

Supreme Court will hear the Mullaperiyar dam matter once again this week. A PIL has urged the court to direct the Central Water Commission (CWC) to determine the rule curve, instrumentation scheme and gate operation, while one of the respondents, the Kerala government, sought to fix the maximum water level. had demanded. Dam reservoir at 139 ft.

Late last month, the top court had asked the Standing Supervisory Committee to give its opinion on the Kerala government’s plea. Note, in 2006, the committee was of the opinion that the water level could be safely maintained at 142 feet; Tamil Nadu, which owns and operates the dam, has long been a storage level that can be safely controlled. However, in 2018, after the devastating floods in Kerala, the SC had allowed the level to be brought down to 139 feet, in 2014, it was allowed to be restored to 142 feet.

Concerns over the safety of the dam located in the Seismic-Zone-3 area, commissioned in 1895, are not recent. In fact, once these were flagged off in 1979, the CWC reduced the water level of the entire reservoir from 152 feet to 136 feet. But, by the mid-1990s, Tamil Nadu was seeking to modify it upwards. The stakes are high for Tamil Nadu. The reservoir is a lifeline for the water-stressed southern districts of the state – the annual diversion of 22 thousand million cubic feet of water from the reservoir not only helps irrigate 2.20 lakh acres of agricultural land, but also supplies drinking water. Is. Any change in the amount of water supply needed in these districts can affect both agricultural livelihoods and water security.

But, for Kerala, which has seen catastrophic rainfall over the past few years, thanks largely to climate change—marked by devastation caused by ecological degradation in the surrounding regions—the challenge exists. The location of the dam in a seismically active area and the age and strength of the dam structure increase the risk of cloudburst.

At the age of 126, Mullaperiyar has passed the dam’s ‘healthy’ life span of 50 years. Studies by IIT Delhi and Roorkee, both commissioned by the Kerala government, had red-flagged the safety of the dam, as is a 2021 report by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. The Kerala government has submitted to the apex court on closure of the dam, construction of a new dam in its place.

However, the Tamil Nadu government rejected the idea of ​​a new dam.

Against this background, fixing the rule curve etc. is a short-term solution; Even if it is decided afresh, the matter is not going to be resolved and the dispute will continue. While the leaderships of both states have reaffirmed confidence in continued talks, the need for a lasting reform cannot be overemphasized – with even greater uncertainties that climate change will worsen in the coming decades. The case for closing the dam is strong as there is a very clear risk to its safety and to Kerala. Now the need is to find a way to balance the interests of Tamil Nadu while moving in this direction.