CHENNAI: Following a Supreme Court directive, State government has constituted a ten-member sub-committee to oversee the preparedness in relation to disaster management of the 130-year-old Mullaiperiyar dam, which has been a cause of constant tussle between Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The panel has been set up under Disaster Management Act and will be headed by SK Prabhakar, Principal Secretary, Public Works Department (PWD). An official notification has been published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette. The convener of the committee would be Executive Engineer of Water Resources Department, Periyar Dam Special Division, Cumbum.
Official sources told Express that as per the Supreme Court order both Kerala and Tamil Nadu have to prepare two separate sub-committees. Already, there is a committee headed by the chairman of Central Water Commission and engineers-in-chief of Tamil Nadu and Kerala for proper reservoir management in Mullaiperiyar dam. It was formed by National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) and these two sub-committees will coordinate with it for better disaster management.
The State-constituted sub-committee also includes Theni collector, revenue officer, chief engineer of Water Resources Department of Madurai region, superintending engineer of Periyar Vaigai Basin Circle, representatives from police, forest department, health and fire services as members.
Post catastrophic Kerala floods, the Kerala government in its affidavit before the Supreme Court blamed sudden release from Mullaiperiyar dam for the situation to worsen.
“State (Kerala) was managing the spate by controlling spill and letting a major portion of the flood waters to escape to the sea. This was done by implementing a strict operational control over the spill of the two largest reservoir systems of Idukki and Idamalayar in synchronisation with eight small other reservoir systems in the above basin. The sudden release from Mullaiperiyar Dam, which is the third largest reservoir in Periyar basin, forced the Kerala government to release more water from Idukki reservoir, which is one of the main causes of the deluge,” the affidavit reads. However, Tamil Nadu has vehemently contested the claim.
S Asokan, Chief Engineer (operations and maintenance), Dam Safety Directorate, told Express that the exact scope of sub-committee is yet to be formulated. “The committee will be meeting shortly.”
Meanwhile, the State government is preparing Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for each dam in line with the guidelines issued by Central Water Commission (CWC). The purpose of Emergency Action Plan is to identify emergency situations that could threaten dam and to plan for an expedited, effective response to prevent failure of the dam and warn downstream residents of impending danger.
As part of the ongoing Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) under the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, EAP is being prepared for 89 dams, of which 69 are operated by Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department and 20 by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO).