THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In what appears to be a major embarrassment for Kerala, it has come out that the state government did not oppose Tamil Nadu’s claim of ownership of four dams, including Mullaperiyar, within its territory. The government put itself in a piquant situation after it admitted in the Assembly that the claim of Tamil Nadu had not come to its notice.
The minutes of the National Committee of Dam Safety (NCDS), held on December 27 last year, clearly states that Kerala had not objected to it.
Raising the issue at the question hour, Jameela Prakasham (JD-S) said that Tamil Nadu had staked claim over the ownership of Mullaperiyar, Thunakadavu, Peruvaripallam and Parambikkulam dams at the NCDS meeting and the officials from the state had failed to object it. All three dams except Mullaperiyar are governed by the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) agreement.
The minutes of the meeting tabled on the Assembly said that Tamil Nadu had requested to incorporate a foot note “Mullaperiyar, Parambikulam, Thunakadavu and Peruvaripallam dams geographically located in Kerala are owned, operated and maintained by Tamil Nadu Public Works department” in the National Register of Large Dams (NRLD). It said “no objections were raised by representatives from state government of Kerala and accordingly the request of Tamil Nadu was accepted.”
She also said that Tamil Nadu had written to the state government on May 7, 2014 that there was no need for the Kerala Dam Safety Authority at any point of time to inspect Parambikulam, Thunakadavu and Peruvaripallam dams as they were owned, operated and maintained by it. While replying to the question, Water Resources Minister P J Joseph said that the issue had not come to the government’s notice, which led to a noisy situation.
The opposition members then moved to the well of the House demanding an explanation. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy then intervened and said that the issue will be looked into and the details will be informed in the House on Thursday.