Date for final hearing in Mullaperiyar case to be decided on November 5
The Supreme Court has indicated to Tamil Nadu and Kerala that it will decide on November 5 the date for final hearing in the Mullaperiyar case.
On Friday, the five-judge Constitution Bench of Justices D.K. Jain, R.M. Lodha, H.L. Dattu, C.K. Prasad, and Anil R. Dave made it clear to senior counsel V. Giri, appearing for Kerala, that it would not accept any new documents or data on the dam.
The Bench is hearing a suit filed by Tamil Nadu questioning the law enacted by Kerala in 2006 to restrict the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam at 136 ft though the Supreme Court had permitted Tamil Nadu to raise the water level to 142 ft.
Earlier, Mr. Giri wanted the court to allow Kerala to file its response to a report of the empowered committee as it had relied on its own empirical data and material, rather than the material and evidence submitted by both the States, in arriving at its conclusion.
Justice Lodha told the counsel that “the committee headed by a former Chief Justice of India with retired Supreme Court judges representing both the States may have its own views and cannot be faulted for it. We will not accept any new material or data. How do you expect the matters to come to an end? Otherwise it will be an unending process. Tomorrow you will say you will call experts from England, Spain or Japan. We can’t permit this. It is an expert committee and not an ad-hoc mechanism. It is a high-powered committee. A body constituted of top level experts.”
When Mr. Giri insisted on filing a response to the committee’s report, the Bench said “the two States can exchange written submissions but no new documents or data can be permitted.”
Additional Advocate General Guru Krishna Kumar, appearing for Tamil Nadu, pleaded with the court for expediting the hearing. However, the Bench told the counsel that it would post the matter for further directions on November 5, when the date for final hearing would be finalised.
Keywords: Mullaperiyar Dam row, Supreme Court, Kerala, Tamil Nadu
Strange that the SC makes a huge fuss of a newly constructed modern nuclear plant, but
pooh-poohs at a century old dam belonging entirely within a state
When Doubts arise on the caliber of Experts,the Supreme court must study the definitions given under section 45 and 51 of the Indian Evidence Act.If Experts say that mullaperiyar dam can never collapse for any reason,it amounts to saying that no man will die even after 100 years as he strengthens himself by taking vitamins and good food.But experts do not talk to the public and convince them with their reasoning on the safety or otherwise of the dam.Kerala wants a new dam and tamilnadu wants to retain the original dam for ever and so both sides took stiff stands.so,if experts are genuine,they must call for intellectual debates .Any common man will say let existing dam remain with less storage and let remaining storage be divided among 3 to 4 dams to be built upstream of present dam so that even when the oldest dam bursts,the food waters get moderated by Idukki dam below and keralites need not fear about the impact of the dam burst.Let both states solve this problem immediately.
Why the SC is concerned if new data that throw more light on the precarious condition of the Dam from expert institutions like our prestigious IITs? Why in this case SC is not concerned, just as in case of Kudamkulam, about the lives of people living downstream, if the dam burst? Strange indeed.
Just hearing in the news about the multiple NEW DAMS that collapsed in the
Maharashtra Irrigation Scam that has come to light recently, It would be one hundred
percent FOOLISH to have hire any present day contractors to build a new dam, as
cement, steel etc will be siphoned off to build their relatives homes ( as these have
become unaffordable even for the middle class. An old dam built with love and the
integrity of an Englishman who sacrificed his own residence and sold it to complete
the works is 1000% better than anything that will be put together by the buddies of the
ruling junta who will only be looking into the economic aspects of the deal rather than
as a job to serve the community and the country
it says it is an expert committee, but not a single expert is there in the committee, the committee only have officials (like for example our head of water authority or head of electricity board, or head of railway who just do clerical works and got that positions just through promotions). HOW CAN THEY BE EXPERTS? supreme court believes the findings ANNAMALAI UNIVERSITY of tamilnadu, but doesnot even open reports from IIT DELHI AND IIT ROORKEE
Evidence ends when "justice" begins?
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