The State will apprise the five-member high-power committee constituted by the Supreme Court of the work being undertaken by Tamil Nadu on the Mullaperiyar dam.
Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran told reporters here on Thursday that Kerala viewed with concern the work being undertaken by Tamil Nadu at Mullaperiyar on the eve of the high-power committee's visit.
The State government had given instructions to Mullaperiyar cell chairman M.K. Parameswaran Nair, Water Resources chief engineer P. Lathika and Inter-State Waters adviser Sasidharan to visit the dam site for an on-the-spot inquiry into reports about the work taking place there. They had already left for Idukki, he said.
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Mr. Premachandran said that Tamil Nadu was clearly trying to make it appear that the dam was absolutely safe, but this would only strengthen Kerala's argument that the dam was unsafe. The work being done by Tamil Nadu was in addition to the annual repair and maintenance work on the dam. The State's information was that the work being done on the main dam and the baby dam was capable of bringing about structural changes in the dam.
Both the Water Resources Department and the State police had sent reports to the government regarding the work. The Mullaperiyar cell had been asked to make an on-the-spot study and report back on the issue on the basis of these information.
The report of the cell would be submitted to the high-power committee headed by former Supreme Court Chief Justice A.S. Anand, the Minister said.
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