NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the National Crisis Management Disaster sub-committee of Mullaiperiyar dam to consider reducing water level up to 139 feet from the present
142 feet in the wake of the grave flood situation in all the 14 districts of Kerala.A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra ordered the sub-committee constituted under Sec 9 of the Disaster Management Act 2005, along with National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), to hold a meeting with authorities in Kerala and Tamil Nadu tomorrow.
In a brief order, the bench said, “An effort has to be made to bring down the water level of the Mullaiperiyar dam to 139 ft so that the people living downstream should not live in constant fear.”
During the urgent hearing, TN government opposed the plea to bring down the water level in the dam, saying that inflow is greater than outflow due to incessant rains, and that it will be difficult to bring it down.
The bench said this was not the time to go into the past and that efforts have to be made to deal with the present crisis. It posted the matter for further hearing tomorrow. It also directed the committee and the NCMC to ready a disaster management plan and asked both States to implement with the decisions of the panel.