With the hearing of the Mullaperiyar case coming before the Supreme Court on July 23, Kerala will finalise the strategy to be adopted before the court on the disputed issue by next week. Though the state has decided to challenge the Empowered Committee’s report, to what extent the state would go in this regard will be finalised after consulting Kerala’s counsel Harish Salve next week.
“There’s no going back from the decision made by the state government to challenge the Empowered Panel’s report stating that the dam is safe. However to what extent we should challenge the findings and decide upon the alternate actions can be finalised only after consulting Harish Salve, whom we are planning to meet next week,” said M K Parameswaran Nair, chairman of Mullaperiyar Cell.
Once the suggestion for the new dam is accepted by the Supreme Court, then discussions would begin on the new agreements to be made between the two states. The state government is of the view that instead of focusing on challenging the committee’s report, the state should attempt to create a positive approach in constructing a new dam.
“Of course, the state government opposes the report which certifies the safety of the dam. But legal experts are of the opinion that the complete rejection of the report made by the panel appointed by the Supreme Court and headed by a former Chief Justice, would create a negative impression before the court,” sources said. The hearing of the case comes before the apex court on July 23. The state has decided to seek the study reports based on which the Empowered Panel arrived at the conclusion regarding the dam’s safety.
The state will also seek reasons for not considering the expert reports of the IIT Roorkee and IIT Delhi teams while preparing the final report. The state has also sought remarks from the professors of IIT Roorkee and Delhi, to be submitted before the court.
“There should be some reason to reject the expert opinion. There is not a single mention about these reports in the committee’s final report,” sources pointed out.