Mullaperiyar Dam: Plea In SC To Monitor Water Level; situation 'grave': SC

New Delhi: In view of the raging floods in Kerala and level of water in Mullaperiyar dam rising causing alarm, a resident of Mullaperiyar in Kerala Russel Joy has moved the Supreme Court seeking announcement of Disaster Management Plan and constant monitoring of water levels by State of Tamil Nadu.

The petitioner’s lawyer Manoj V George appeared before a bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi who directed him to mention it before the bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra at 2 PM.

It was the bench headed by Chief Justice which passed the judgement on constituting Disaster Management committee as per National Disaster Management Act 2005.

The petitioner said that no concrete steps have been taken by any of the States or Central government till date to implement the directions in true letter and spirit.

“As on date, the petitioner and many people living in the downstream are displaced from their homes due to the unpreparedness of the State and the Central government during this natural calamity as there is no plan which is announced or communicated to the public at large till date further to the directions of this Hon’ble Court”.

He submitted that the State of Tamil Nadu has risked the life of many people in the downstream of the Mullaperiyar dam (MPD) when they insisted that water needs to cross the 142 ft mark before taking any action despite seeing the current state of affairs due to this unprecedented natural calamity in Kerala and efforts to contain the loss of life and property. He cited the fact that that of 339 dams out of 39 in the State of Kerala, have been opened due to heavy rains and that as a result of the influx of such a large volume of water, the entire State of Kerala has been cut off. He also submitted that the release of water from the Mullaperiyar Dam (MPD) at the sole discretion of Tamil Nadu for extraneous reasons is a threat to the life to the petitioner and many others in the downstream of the Mullaperiyar dam. He also citedthe Water management preparedness of State of Tamilnadu was pathetic when last year (2017-Chennai floods) huge water inflow was allowed to Chennai city without any adequate warning resulting in loss of life and property of many.

The petitioner has prayed for a direction to the Central Government to convene an urgent meeting of the Committee under Section 9 of the Disaster Management Act 2005 urgently to ensure a high level of preparedness to face any disaster that is unpredictableHe also sought a direction to the Committee to announce and make public the disaster management plan proposed to be adopted regarding Mullaperiyar Dam in the current peculiar circumstances of floods and landslides in Idukki and other dam areas.

He also prayed for a direction to the State of Tamil Nadu for a proper management of water release causing no harm or damage to people in the downstream of Mullaperiyar Dam and to fix responsibility on the Chief Secretary of the State of Tamil Nadu for an hourly monitoring of the situation and submission of report to the sub- committee constituted by the Central Government as per section 9 of Disaster Management Act 2005.

PTI adds:

The Supreme Court on Thursday termed as “grave” the flood situation in Kerala and agreed to hear a plea seeking Centre’s mediation between Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments on the issue of the Mullaperiyar Dam crossing the 142 ft threshold.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Indu Malhotra considered the submission of a lawyer and agreed to hear the plea today itself.

The plea seeks a decision on disaster management steps in the background of the floods, opening of 33 dams in Kerala, confusion between Kerala and Tamil Nadu chief ministers as water in the Mullaperiyar Dam has crossed the 142-ft threshold.

The death toll in the current phase of monsoon fury in the southern state has crossed 80, while rains and flood water has caused extensive damage.

Rise in flood waters in Periyar River due to the rains and opening of all shutters of all major dams including Mullaperiyar, Cheruthoni, part of Idukki reservoir, and Idamalayar, have severely affected lives of people in downstream areas.