Kerala again speaks of new Mullaperiyar dam

Thiruvananthapuram -  Even as a Supreme Court-appointed experts committee continues to deliberate on the Mullaperiyar dam, Kerala Tuesday once again stressed on a new dam as the only solution to the contentious issue with Tamil Nadu.

State Minister of Water Resources P.J. Joseph said the agreement that was inked on the present dam for a period of 999 years was a grave mistake done by the erstwhile rulers of Travancore.

"Nowhere is such a long-standing agreement in force. We achieved Independence long back. We just cannot afford to have any such agreement when a new Mullaperiyar dam is built," Joseph said.

"We can have a similar agreement that is in force in the sharing of the Siruvani dam (situated in Palakkad district) waters between the two states," he added.

State Finance Minister K.M. Mani also emphasised that Kerala can build a dam in its territory and that is the right of the state and it would be done.

"In my last budget, that the assembly has passed, I have kept an allocation for a new dam to be built in place of the present Mullaperiyar dam," he said.

For both Mani and Joseph, who belong to the Kerala Congress (Mani) - the third biggest ally of the ruling Oommen Chandy-led government, it has now become a matter of honour as their party is very strong in and around the districts.

Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been at loggerhead over the dam, built under an 1886 accord between the then Maharaja of Travancore and the erstwhile British Raj. It is located in Kerala and its waters also serve Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu wants the dam's storage capacity to be increased by raising the dam height from 136 feet (41.5 metre) to 142 feet (43 metre) as the state's irrigation needs have shot up.

Kerala is worried that a strong earthquake might damage the dam and cause widespread destruction. It is seeking a new dam and has offered to fund and build it, but Tamil Nadu does not agree.

Experts say if a quake strikes and the dam is damaged, over four million people and their property in districts of Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and parts of Thrissur would be washed away.