The Supreme Court’s recent poser, made orally, to Tamil Nadu and Kerala to indicate their preference between the court-constituted supervisory committee or a panel under the Dam Safety Act, 2021, to take care of the Mullaperiyar dam has come exactly two months after the Union government formed the new supervisory committee.
In its order on November 21, 2024, the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (Peninsular Rivers Division) in the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, set up a seven-member panel headed by the Chairman, National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA). This was done under Section 24(1) [jurisdiction of State Dam Safety Organisation and Authority] of the Act. The implication of the proviso is that as the 130-year-old Mullaperiyar dam was located in Kerala and owned by Tamil Nadu, the NDSA “shall be construed” as the State Dam Safety Organisation (SDSO). Yet, “considering the importance of the safety” of the dam and “congnisant to the responsibilities that the NDSA has over this dam” as the SDSO, the new supervisory committee was constituted.
The fresh supervisory committee includes two representatives of Tamil Nadu and Kerala each, and a nodal officer of the International Centre for Excellence on Dams, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, apart from Member (Disaster & Resilience) in the NDSA as Member-Secretary. The principal function of the panel is to inspect the dam periodically, especially before and during the [southwest] monsoon; keep a close watch on the safety, and recommend measures. The November 21 order specified that “such measures shall be carried out by Tamil Nadu.”
After the May 2014 judgment of the Supreme Court on the dam, the Union government, in July that year, set up the supervisory committee. Eight years later, the panel was re-constituted with one technical member each from the two States. Certain sections of farmers and water experts in Tamil Nadu had been critical about the effectiveness of the original supervisory committee which had, according to them, “failed” to ensure that Kerala and its instrumentalities permit and facilitate dam-strengthening and other related works. However, in December last year, when a row arose, the Kerala government permitted the Tamil Nadu government to take materials required for the maintenance work at the dam. With the formation of the new committee, the previous panel had been dissolved, the order said. The court, after making the oral observation on January 20, listed the next hearing for February 19. It directed the parties concerned to file additional affidavits, if any. Under such circumstances, the question arises whether there was any need for forming one more committee. An official said greater clarity would emerge in the next hearing.
