Terming the Justice A.S. Anand Committee Report on Mullaperiyar Dam as “hostile to the interests of Tamil Nadu,” the awareness seminar organised here on Saturday by the senior engineers of Public Works Department and Tamirabharani Iyakkam has appealed to the State Government to initiate immediate steps to deploy Tamil Nadu Police for security at the dam now under controversy.
Resolution
A resolution passed in the seminar said while the Tamil Nadu Police should be deployed at Mullaperiyar dam to ensure its safety, the Tamil Nadu Government should also take immediate steps to remove the restrictions imposed by the Kerala Forest Department and take the construction materials to the dam to carryout maintenance work.
The illegal constructions and the encroachments in the catchment areas of Mullaperiyar dam should be removed immediately, another resolution said.
Speakers at the awareness seminar said the Tamil Nadu Government should not have accepted the formation of Justice A.S. Anand Committee to check the safety and strength of the dam as Dr. P.K. Mittal Committee, which was appointed way back in 2001 itself had checked the sturdiness of the reservoir and recommended that water could be stored up to 152 feet since the dam was very strong.
If water level was increased up to 152 feet, then it would badly affect the encroachments made by Kerala on 3,941 acres of land, actually belonging to Tamil Nadu. To cover-up the illegal constructions made on the land owned by Tamil Nadu, the Kerala Government, which had received a revenue of Rs. 1,800 crore through this tourism industry-related encroachments, was making all-out attempts.
Even after the Union Government's Intelligence Bureau reports (November 9 – 10 / 2006) had made very clear observations on the illegal constructions, the Tamil Nadu Government had failed to take any action to neutralise this adverse development, the speakers observed.
The hurdles being created by the Kerala Police and the Kerala Forest Department to plug the holes made in the Mullaperiyar dam to check its strength were only aimed at weakening the reservoir in future.
“Kerala, which is not an independent nation, should abide by the verdicts of the Supreme Court of India. At the same time, the Tamil Nadu Government, which has every right to administer all its properties, should deploy its police force at Mullaperiyar dam since it is also one of its properties. The Government of Tamil Nadu should give clear instructions to Director General of Police, the Collector and the Superintendent of Police of Theni District in this connection,” they said.
Former Chief Engineers of PWD R.V.S. Vijayakumar, S. Gunabalan, S. Rengaramanujam and T. Shanmugasundaram and founder president of ‘Tamirabharani Iyakkam' T. Balasubramaniya Adityan spoke.
