: The Irrigation Design and Research Board of Kerala has approached the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) for environmental clearance for constructing a new dam at Mullaiperiyar.
The Supreme Court had on May 12 turned down the Tamil Nadu government’s request to stall the Environmental Impact Assessment for construction of the new dam.
Minister for Environment Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan told The Hindu that it was important to think of the new dam in terms of averting a possible disaster and saving the lives of people living in downstream areas threatened by the old dam, which was built in 1895, and is structurally unsound. “Unfortunately the building of the new dam has been viewed as a ploy to deprive Tamil Nadu of its legitimate share of water, but the coming up of the new dam will not impact water-sharing between the States,” he said.
In the letter to the MoEF, the Chief Engineer of the Irrigation Board has submitted that the old dam is subject to seepages and the situation was particularly grave when during the late seventies the Kerala government had approached the Union government for the first time for assistance. Since then, several strengthening measures have been undertaken.
