CHENNAI: Debunking DMK president M Karunanidhi for raising doubts over the status of four dams - Mullaiperiyar, Parambikulam, Peruvaripallam and Thunakadavu - Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday asserted that they were indeed under the control of Tamil Nadu and that the State had not lost any right over them.
In this connection, she has referred to the recent verdict of the Supreme Court which had ruled that Mullaiperiyar dam belonged to Tamil Nadu government, which is vested with its control.
The National Register of Larger Dams, in its 2009 list, had clearly mentioned that Mullaiperiyar and three other dams, situated in Kerala, are maintained and owned by TN government. Later, the list was updated with longitude and latitude details. Only because of this, the dams are mentioned in Kerala’s list. However, it has been made clear that though located in Kerala, they are being maintained and operated by Tamil Nadu. The updated NRLD 2013 too reiterates this point.
The Updating of the National Register of Larger Dams according to their geographical location was initiated by the previous UPA regime. But, Karunanidhi had maintained a studied silence on that issue.
Even during the 32nd Nation Dam Security meeting, Tamil Nadu had reiterated this . Accepting it, the National Council for Dam Safety had stated that it would be mentioned when the NRLD is updated after getting similar requests from other States. Further, the Central Water Resources Department has clarified that based on the information provided in the NRLD, no State could claim rights over any dam and that any mistakes would be corrected if pointed out.
Responding to Karunanidhi’s remarks on Mullaperiyar dam issue, she expressed confidence that the water level in the dam would be increased to 142 feet soon after the Supreme Court mandated supervisory committee was constituted.
Recalling her request made to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 3 for allocation of sufficient funds for the intra-linking of rivers in Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa gave a detailed account on the efforts taken by her government in this connection.