Former Acting Chief Justice K. Narayana Kurup of the Madras High Court has said that the people residing downstream of the Mullaperiyar dam are being denied their constitutional right to life in the face of the looming perils of a catastrophic disaster. Such a situation warranted immediate action on the part of the State by invoking the ‘precautionary principle’.
Justice Kurup was speaking while inaugurating the website of the Vaikom Management Association at a function held here on Sunday.
He pointed out that scientists have not ruled out the possibilities of a dam break in the event of a tremor or earthquake of magnitude 6 on the Richter scale. The dam that was built at a time when the technology was at the primitive stage could collapse (at the instance of a tremor of such intensity), at the event of which tens of thousands of people will be killed. Such devastation can never be compensated in terms of money. He added that whatever the government of Tamil Nadu may do to ‘strengthen’ the dam will not further fortify the dam and the distinct possibility of a dam break would still exist.
Once the dam breaks, the resultant devastation would defy one’s comprehension, said Justice Kurup.
Justice Kurup added that considering the facts that Kerala lies in Zone III (as per the earthquake zonal map), where earthquakes of magnitude 6 on the Richter scale could occur; the frequency in occurrence of tremors; and that the dam built in the year 1895 has outlived its life-span of 50 years with cracks being developed, the State has established a prima-facie case for the construction of a new dam.
Once the possibility of a dam break has been established, common sense dictates that we shall not wait for the possibility to become a certainty. Therefore, immediate action is the need of the hour and this will benefit both Tamil Nadu and Kerala, he said.
